All's fair in Love and Aliens
by lostsowecanbefound
Summary: She had the tendency to bite your head off. She had walls made of stone to push people away. She was wild and dangerous and full of dark secrets that threatened the world as they knew it. But Ben didn't care. He fell for her anyway. Kevin/Gwen, Ben/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**RE-EDITED VERSION**_

**Important things to remember for this story:**

**- This story is loosely based off the Ben 10 MOVIE from 2009.**

**-I may get some facts messed up, so bear with me.**

**-The omnitrix will NOT have a huge part in this story.**

**-Gwen's alien powers haven't kicked in yet, as they weren't even in the movie (I do mention her powers in the next chapter, but it will be cut out when I re-edit it).**

**-If the characters seem OOC, I apologize, but this is just how I write them.**

**-This is nothing like the cartoon (I could never beat it!)**

**I do not own anything related to Ben 10! (Though I wished I owned Kevin)**

**Read on my lovelies!**

* * *

Gwen sighed, frustrated. She was bored and had wanted to spend time with Kevin, considering they hadn't had some alone time in a while. But when she came to ask him to go to the movies with her, he told her he was busy. Again. This time, he had promised to teach Elena some new tricks in how to re-build a car.

It had been a couple of years since Elena and her father had found their way into the Tennyson's lives. She and Elena weren't the best of friends, but they managed. Elena and Ben have had an on and off thing for these past years, and Gwen didn't really like it. Ben was always frustrated and Elena could never make up her mind. Currently it was off. Gwen hoped it was going to stay off, for Ben's sake.

"Look, I'll take you to the movies later, okay?" Kevin rolled himself out from under the car. He stood up and wiped his hands on a rag.

"Kevin we've barely even hung out this summer. I hardly even see you anymore. You're always busy lately. Either with work, or teaching people unnecessary things..." Gwen trailed off with a bitter note.

"Is that jealousy I hear?" Kevin smirked as he walked over to her. Gwen glared at him and crossed her arms.

"Absolutely not Levin. I'm bored. That's all." Gwen stated coolly. Kevin wrapped his arms around Gwen, placing his forehead against hers and sighed deeply.

"Elena is alright to hang out with, but you know I'd rather be with you." He murmured. Gwen closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of being held in Kevin's arms. His hold was so protective and possessive, and she loved it. Despite his hard demeanor, he really did have his sweet moments.

Kevin tightened his arms around her as he kissed her softly on the forehead. Gwen looked up at him and smiled, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. No matter how many times he would do that, he always sent a pleasant rush through her body.

"Well I am pretty great company." Gwen smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She uncrossed her arms, wrapping them around his neck and whispered seductively in his ear, "I may not know how to work with cars, but I sure as hell can work my mouth."

Kevin groaned, "God woman, what are you trying to do to me?" His voice was strained as he looked down at the red head. Gwen smirked.

"Just trying to make you realize what you're missing tonight." She giggled as his eyes darkened.

"Kevin! I'm ready for my lesson. Hello?" A voice suddenly cried out, the door slamming as the pair heard loud footsteps making its way to their direction.

Kevin cursed under his breath as his grip tightened on Gwen. "Remind me why I ever agreed to this?" He muttered darkly.

"Because you're too sweet for your own good." Gwen answered for him, pecking him on the cheek. Kevin frowned at her explanation.

"I am _not_ sweet." He glared at her as she chuckled. Gwen just shook her head in disagreement.

"You're a softie." Gwen pinched Kevin's cheek as he scowled. She began to untangle herself from his arms.

"Don't think you're getting away that easy." He pulled her back into his arms and before Gwen could say anything, he lowered his mouth onto hers.

Gwen melted against Kevin, his kisses igniting a fire at the pit of her stomach. She could never think straight when he kissed her like this, so heatedly and passionately, claiming her as his.

"_God,_ get a room." A voice called out disgustedly. Gwen broke away from Kevin, pushing him away slightly. Kevin frowned, not liking the idea of stopping.

"Sorry Lena." Gwen smiled sweetly, enjoying the flash of irritation across Elena's face. Elena rolled her eyes in response to the couple.

"I'll see you later." Gwen pecked Kevin on the lips quickly as she stepped out of his arms, not giving him a chance to pull her back in for another make out session.

"I'm really sorry about tonight Gwen. I'll make it up to you." Kevin glanced at her wistfully as she began to walk away.

"I'll hold you up to that." She winked at Kevin as she waggled her fingers in a goodbye, walking out of the garage.

Gwen sighed as she made her way out from the garage and into the little shop her Grandpa Max owned. It seemed that lately between her classes and Kevin's duties, they had less and less time for each other. She was beginning to take notice in how much he wasn't around anymore. Her heart twisted as she realized she really, really missed him, despite just seeing him a moment ago.

As Gwen walked into the shop, she noticed a new worker at the cash register.

He was young, looked to be around her age. He was tall and muscular, though not as built as Kevin. He hair was a light blond, long and shaggy. As she walked closer, she noticed that the blue shirt he wore made his dark blue eyes pop beautifully. He was definitely cute.

"Your car need fixing?" He smiled charmingly as he leaned over the counter. "It's a bit expensive, but for a pretty face like yours I think I may be able to knock down the price a bit." He winked at her, causing her to blush slightly.

"Um, no." Gwen smirked. "If I wanted anything fixed, I'm pretty sure I could get it for free." She chuckled as he raised his eyebrows in response to her cheeky attitude.

"And why is that? I mean you're pretty hot but…"

"My Grandpa owns the garage." Gwen interrupted him, not wanting to hear the end of the sentence. His eyes lit up in recognition.

"Ah. So _you're_ the infamous Gwen Tennyson." He smiled. He stepped back and studied her for a moment. "You know…" He cocked his head to the side, seeming to be deep in thought. "Your Gramps was right."

"Right about what?" She asked warily. The last thing she needed was her Grandpa Max telling embarrassing stories to random strangers.

"You sure are a looker." He grinned at her, looking at her up and down, clearly checking her out. Gwen looked surprised, then rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Nice." She stated dryly. The guy laughed at her expression, causing her to smile a bit. "When did you get here anyway? Where's Ed?" Gwen asked, wondering where the usual employee was, hoping he was alright.

"Just started today actually. Uncle Ed asked me to fill in while he was out, my Aunt is really sick. We cleared it up with Max, so don't worry about it. I'll probably be around here for a bit. If you don't mind." He raised an eyebrow, a smile forming on his lips.

"Well..." Gwen bit her lip and paused, pretending to be in deep though. She sighed dramatically. "I guess it's alright." She glanced at him, holding back a smile. The guy burst into laughter, shaking his head at her.

"Well Gwen, I'm glad I've got your approval." He grinned at her. Gwen just shook her head and smiled.

"Well, if you're going to be around for a while, I suppose I should know your name." Gwen raised an eyebrow, glancing at his empty name tag. He grinned sheepishly.

"Tim. Timothy Anthony Johnson. The third." He held up three fingers with a serious look on his face, causing Gwen to burst into giggles.

Gwen suddenly felt a heavy familiar arm sneak tightly around her waist, and she turned to meet the face that belonged to the arm.

Kevin looked down at her with a small smile, but his eyes held something different. He looked up at Tim.

"Kevin." He stated gruffly to Tim, frowning slightly as he studied the newcomer. "Jim, right?" Kevin smirked.

"It's Tim." He stated flatly, narrowing his eyes a bit. Gwen groaned inwardly.

"Whatever." He turned to Gwen. "Hey, I finished early. Let me go get a drink and I'll be right back." He shot a glare at Tim as he walked away. She looked apologetic to Tim.

"So that's the boyfriend?" Tim asked raising his eyebrows. Gwen shrugged as she looked back at Kevin's retreating form.

"Umm… I guess. We don't really do titles." She shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to continue the conversation. She had a hard enough time with dealing with the same question herself. She and Kevin were practically glued to the hip, they were clearly together, well Gwen thought they were, but they had never stated it as official.

"Really? And you're… Okay with that?" Tim's eyes bore into her, as if knowing exactly what she was feeling. Gwen shrugged again, trying to seem indifferent. She really, really didn't want to think about Tim's questions.

"Hey Gwen, Elena actually went home. If we leave now we can still catch the movie." Kevin walked back in with a soda in tow, smiling at her, ignoring the boy behind the counter.

"Yeah, sure." Gwen smiled back at him, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. She turned to wave at Tim, but the look on his face was searching, probing at her. She muttered a quick 'bye', and quickly walked out, her red ponytail swishing, not looking back.

Kevin and Gwen walked silently to the car, Kevin glancing at her every few moments or so. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he glanced down at Gwen, who didn't notice him looking at her.

"So…" Kevin trailed off; Gwen looked up at him and gave him a soft smile. He shifted uncomfortably.

"What was with you and that guy inside?" He blurted out, wincing at how jealous he sounded. Gwen's eyes widened, then narrowed a bit.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked slowly, frowning at him. Kevin glanced at her, not knowing whether or not he should just say what he was thinking. He decided to go with the latter.

"It just seemed like you guys were flirting." Kevin shrugged nonchalantly, frowning at the thought. Gwen's eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at him.

"I was not flirting." She said stated rather coolly. Kevin finally glanced at her. She seemed calm, but he could sense an angry storm within her eyes. He sighed.

"Well… He was hitting on you when I was right there!"

"God Kevin, it doesn't even matter. It's not like you're my boyfriend or anything." Gwen cried out, exasperated. Kevin's eyes widened, then narrowed.

"But you're mine! So why the hell did you let him hit on you!" Kevin snapped angrily. Gwen's mouth dropped open, and her face began to match her hair. Kevin's angry demeanor began to slip away as he stepped back, noticing that Gwen was about to rip him to shreds.

"You listen to me Levin, and you better listen good." She hissed as he gulped. "I am not your possession, I am not even your," she poked him in the chest hard, "girlfriend. You," She poked him again. "Make it clear that you hate talking about all this relationship crap every time I attempt to bring up the subject. So you," *poke*, "cannot sit there and tell me things like that!" She pushed his chest away from her, growling in frustration. She was painfully aware of how contradicting she was being, even if Kevin didn't know the other side to how she felt.

"Gwen…" He started, but her phone started ringing Ben's special ringtone and she just glared at him, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket, answering with an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, he's with me now. Uh huh. Alright. We'll meet you in 10." Gwen sighed as she hung up, placing her phone back in her pocket.

"Ben caught something on the radar, and he wants us to meet up with him near Sally's Hair Shop downtown." Gwen stated as she began to walk towards the car. Kevin reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Hold up. We still need to talk." He tried to pull her back to him, but she shook him off.

"We've got a job to do Kevin." Gwen pulled her hand out of his grasp and walked to the car, clearly still pissed at the raven haired teen standing behind her.

Kevin muttered curses under his breath as he walked after her, wishing he knew what to say to get her to stop being mad at him.

He really was bad with women.

* * *

**AN: If this feels like a filler chapter, I apologize! Feel free to review the new chapter! Tell me if you like it, or hate it, whatever. Any improvements? REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**RE-EDITED ** _**_VERSION_**

* * *

Gwen and Kevin were silent as they drove through the town, the earlier argument still raw.

Kevin glanced at Gwen as he drove. She drove him absolutely crazy sometimes. He knew that it bothered her that he had never called them boyfriend and girlfriend. He too wasn't crazy about the PDA either, which ranged from making out in public, to the simple act of holding hands. He had his moments though. As long as those moments weren't… Displayed to the world.

He cared about Gwen. More than he was willing to admit. And he knew he had a jealous streak. He hated it when he saw another guy even glancing at her. She was his. Everyone knew it.

'_Except for the new guy apparently', _he thought bitterly.

Deep down, he kind of, sort of, actually wanted everything to be official. But in all honesty, Kevin was terrified that he couldn't do it, be a good boyfriend. He already screwed up enough as it was.

Kevin pulled in to an old hair salon and parked off to the side. Gwen opened the door and got out, not saying another word to him. He sighed and tried to shake out his thoughts. It was time to focus.

Ben walked over to his cousin and best friend, waving excitedly. Kevin rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, leaning against the sleek black and green car he had made for one of Ben's birthdays.

"Hey guys!" Ben jogged up to the pair and grinned at the both of them. If he picked up on the tension, he didn't mention it.

"Would you at least try to be less embarrassing Tennyson?" Kevin snapped, frustrated with his thoughts.

"Time of month already, Kevin?" Ben raised an eyebrow, smirking at the enraged look on Kevin's face.

"You know what Ben-" Kevin growled, but was cut off by the red head next to him.

"Shut up! The both of you." Gwen pushed Kevin away from Ben, glaring at the both of them. "We're here for a reason. Ben, what is it that you wanted us to check out?" She asked, her tone switching to business.

Ben glanced at Kevin, a little smirk still playing on his lips before turning to Gwen. "I was in the lab earlier, you know, just minding my own business, when the screen starts lighting up like crazy. There were three alerts on the outskirts of town, and there were two here downtown." Ben's eyes had lit up with excitement. "Afterwards, everything just vanished. Zlich. Nada. Zero. Nothing." Ben finished off, looking between the two other teens in front of him.

Kevin was still standing in the same position while Gwen was frowning, looking pensive.

"Well?" Ben asked hopefully. "What do you think it was? Gwen?" He turned to his cousin.

"Well… It got picked up by the radar, but what really bothers me is the fact that it vanished. What if whatever these things are, have a way to go unnoticed throughout the city, it would be really hard to know where to start looking." Gwen glanced up at her cousin, frowning.

"Yeah, well, I suppose it's a good thing I saved the address before the alerts vanished. I only got the two here in downtown. It's why I asked you guys to meet me here." Ben pulled out a small wadded up piece of paper out of his pocket. He handed it to Gwen, smiling proudly.

Gwen opened the paper, quickly reading the address. "God Ben, it's a good thing that I've known you for so long, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to read this terrible hand writing." She threw him a look. Ben shrugged.

"Whatever cuz. It just shows my free spirited side." He grinned cheekily.

"That's stupid." Kevin looked at Ben with a bored look on his face.

"Whatever. Where are the keys? I walked here and we need to get going if we want to catch what I saw." Ben glanced at Gwen, then Kevin's hands for the keys. He reached for Kevin's hands as Kevin jerked his arm away.

"There is no way in hell I'm letting you drive my car Tennyson." Kevin glared at Ben, the memory of Ben destroying his previous car flashing through his mind.

"It's not your car remember? You made it for _my _birthday." Ben mimicked Kevin's stance.

"That was before you completely destroyed-" Kevin growled, but was cut off by Gwen.

"Will you two hurry up? I'm going to go wait in the car like a civilized person." She threw the both of them an exasperated look before walking off. Kevin's eyes were glued to Gwen's backside, a look crossing his face that Ben couldn't decipher.

"Rock, paper, scissors shall decide." Ben said once Kevin had turned back to him. Kevin scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Really Ben? We're not little kids anymore. Well, one of us anyway, right little Benji?" He smirked as Ben glared at him.

"I told you to quit calling me that! And some of us know what the term 'fun' means Kev. And in this case, you're just scared you're going to lose." Ben grinned as Kevin narrowed his eyes.

"I am not scared of you beating me Tennyson. But fine." Kevin rolled his eyes and sighed. "Just don't be too heartbroken when I get to drive my baby." Kevin held out his hand, glancing at the brunette in front of him. Ben grinned.

"We'll see Kev, we'll see."

* * *

"Don't be such a sore loser Kevin." Ben said cheerfully as they made their way to the car.

"Shut up Tennyson." Kevin growled at Ben. Ben just laughed gleefully. Kevin opened the door to the back seat and slid it, muttering under his breath.

"Get going Ben. We don't have all day." Kevin snapped.

"Hey. You wanted best two out of three. Not my fault you suck at rock, paper, scissors." Ben answered happily.

"Shut up and drive." Kevin frowned, looking up at the mirror. He locked eyes with Gwen for a moment, his heart sinking as she looked away.

"Hey Gwen, who was that new guy at the register this morning? What happened to Ed?" Ben asked, remembering seeing a new face in the shop. Kevin tensed, then rolled his eyes.

"His name is Jim or something. I don't like him." Kevin called out from the back suddenly.

"It's Tim, Kevin." Gwen corrected tersely. "And you don't even know him." Gwen frowned, glaring at him through the mirror.

"Whatever." Kevin muttered darkly, avoiding Gwen's penetrating stare.

"We're here guys." Ben pulled over into an empty parking lot. It was deserted, with a fence surrounding the left and the right, the only opening at the back where Ben had driven in. It was behind a large warehouse that was high up, with only a few windows here and there.

Ben looked around, frowning. He wondered if perhaps there was a glitch in the computer, because the parking lot was rather small, not at all seeming as if there were danger lurking behind the dumpster to the left.

"I guess we can do a quick sweep of the area, but I don't see anything." Ben turned around, his dark brown eyes filled with confusion as he tried to think about why the computer would lead him to here.

"This won't take long." Kevin said as they all split up into different sections, all wondering what they were looking for.

* * *

It was no less than ten minutes that the trio met up at the car, each finding nothing.

"Well. That was ten minutes of my life that I'm never getting back." Kevin crossed his arms and sighed.

"Sorry Ben. But I got nothing." Gwen shrugged, but shot her cousin a small smile.

"Sorry for dragging you guys out here-" Ben began to apologize.

"A lot of good that does us now." Kevin muttered. Gwen shot a glare at him. Kevin shuffled on his feet, avoiding the red head's gaze. Ben ignored him.

"But I know there was something here. I can feel it." He said confidently, looking at them.

"Look, if something comes up again, we'll definitely check it out. But there's not much we can do now." She smiled at him, trying to be reassuring.

"Great talk gang." Kevin intervened sarcastically. "But I'm hungry now. Let's eat!" He suggested. Ben lighted up at the thought of food.

"Honestly, you two are always hungry." Gwen rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile tugging at her lips. "We should check out if there's anything new at the lab though."

"Yeah. Sounds like a good idea." Ben nodded. A loud moaning sound came from Ben's stomach. "Well… After we stop for food." He grinned sheepishly as Gwen and Kevin chuckled at him. "And since I'm driving..."

"Oh hell no. Hand over the keys." Kevin shook his head firmly and held out his hand. Ben grinned and stepped away from him.

"I don't think so..."

* * *

A pair of cold grey eyes located in the warehouse in front of the parking lot looked down at the trio, observing them with a mild disgust.

"They found nothing, am I correct?" The cold voice matching the eyes spoke aloud.

"Yes sir. The new technology erases any trail or alert we may have sent off by accident." Another voice explained with a slight tremor. It was also male, quiet and urgent.

"I would hope so. For your sake." The voice paused, another shiver of fear washing over the other man. "Anything on the girl?" He asked with an afterthought.

"She's on her way sir."

"Good. And we have people following her every move, am I correct?"

"Yes sir. She's running out of gas and she has to stop soon to refill."

"Perfect."

"Sir? About these people…"

"They are amateurs. Nothing to worry about. And if they are… well. You know what to do."

* * *

**Love? Hate? Review?**


	3. Chapter 3

_**RE-EDITED VERSION**_

* * *

She felt the wind blowing harshly against her face. Her raven black hair was flowing behind her back, her grip tight on the handles of her motorcycle. Her eyes were narrowed, determined to survive.

She knew they were close. She knew what they wanted. But there was no way they were going to get her too. She was going to make sure of it.

It was dark and there was no moon. It was just her and her beloved bike, on a lonely dirt road that looked straight out of a scary movie. She wore no helmet. She was already running for her life, what difference would it make?

She could hear a vehicle's motor pulling up behind her. She just kept riding. The motor became louder. She glanced at the rearview mirror. There was a hand that outside of the window on the passenger side. It held a gun.

A really, really large gun. A gun that she had never seen before.

Whatever it was, she was not going down without a fight.

She had gone through hell because of these people and she wasn't about to give up now. She glanced back, little smirk forming on her lips.

It fired.

* * *

Gwen, Ben and Kevin were in the underground office at the shop. They were studying files that were spread across the table. There was a single light bulb hanging above them.

"Face it Tennyson. We got nothing. Whatever you saw it's obviously gone. We've been looking since yesterday. And now it's late and I'm hungry." Kevin sighed, leaning back in his chair, propping his feet up.

"Again." Gwen muttered, avoiding Kevin's gaze as he glared at her.

"Guys I know I saw something. I know I did." Ben just shook his head, frustrated. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"What doesn't make sense is you still being here. Even Elena had enough brains to leave, what, 2 hours ago?" Kevin pointed out.

"He got it Kevin." Gwen frowned at him. "Look Ben you saw something. We get that. But whatever you saw isn't showing anymore. It could be gone. And we never saw anything that could be considered harmful. And we haven't heard of anything happening or anyone getting hurt."

"Yeah. What she said." Kevin crossed his arms, wanting to be done with the conversation. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"I guess." Ben sighed and started collecting the papers. "Nothing did show up when we printed the recordings out. It's just that I can't shake that feeling." He looked up at both of them. Gwen was looking at him as Kevin was sneaking glances at his cousin. He chuckled.

"Thanks anyways guys. You guys are my best friends you know that?" He grinned at the two of them. Kevin snorted while Gwen smiled at her cousin.

"Does your list of best friends include Lena?" Kevin asked curiously in a teasing manner. Ben looked away and frowned slightly.

"Not really." Ben muttered. He began to put away all the files into his backpack. The pair became quiet. Gwen shot a look at Kevin. He shrugged.

"So.. Does this mean you guys are over for good?" She asked softly. Ben sighed and nodded slowly as he looked up at them.

"This has been going on too long, you know?" He frowned and bit his lip, deep in thought. "I mean, she said she didn't want a boyfriend right now. This whole game of hers is really getting old. Even when we were together, it never felt like we were_ together_, you know? We agreed earlier to still be friends, because apparently she still wants me in her life." Ben rolled his eyes and just shook his head. "I really don't understand women." Ben sighed tiredly.

"Tell me about it." Kevin muttered, glancing at Gwen with a pensive look on his face. Gwen shot him a look, and then turned to Ben.

"I would say I'm sorry, but I never really thought she was good enough for you." Gwen winked at Ben teasingly, though part of her knew she was telling the truth. "Are you okay though?" She asked, ignoring the look Kevin sent her. Ben paused and thought for a moment.

"Surprisingly… yeah. I honestly don't think I lost that much when it came to that part of our relationship. I'm done with that." Ben shrugged. He momentarily thought of all the guys he knew Elena saw on their 'off' period and even some on their 'on', but he quickly pushed those thoughts away.

Ben dug through his pockets for his keys, ready to go home. "I'm gunna go. Kevin, take Gwen home will ya?" He asked innocently when Kevin glared at him.

"With what Tennyson?" Kevin asked with an edge to his voice reminding him he had no ride. Ben shrugged.

"Take one of the cars from the garage. I'm kinda sick of all the tension around here. You guys seriously need to talk. See you home Gwen." Ben smirked as he noticed Gwen giving Kevin a look when he wasn't looking. Her eyes shot up to her cousin, ready to argue.

"But…" Gwen started.

"See you guys!" Ben called out cheerfully as he walked out the door. Kevin and Gwen both shot him heated glares as he retreated outside. They cautiously glanced at each other, each not knowing how to start the conversation now that Ben was gone.

"Well…" Gwen tried to start again was once again cut off.

"Gwen…" Kevin started as well. He sighed and ran his hand in is hair nervously. Gwen bit her lip, not knowing how to apologize, or even if she should.

"Ben is right though." Gwen crossed her arms and sighed. "We never really got a chance to talk about yesterday…" She trailed off looking at him softly.

"Gwen... You know I'm shit with my feelings." Kevin muttered. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Ever so eloquent with your words, Kev." She gave him a wry smile. Kevin fidgeted in his chair, not quite meeting her eyes.

"It's just… You know… I got kind of jealous when I saw you with him… And… I… I just don't like that Jim guy!" Kevin finally blurted out, blushing a bit when he realized what he had said.

"His name is Tim Kev." Gwen chuckled as Kevin shrugged sheepishly. She glanced at the boy that made her heart race, and delicately cupped his face with her hand. He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked up at her, his dark brown eyes momentarily completely unguarded. Gwen smiled at him.

"I know you were jealous Kev." She told him softly, stroking her thumb against his cheek, sending shivers down his spine. "But there are things we do need to talk about concerning… Us." She mentioned cautiously, knowing how he felt about the subject. Kevin sighed.

"I know Gwen. But… Could we maybe… Possibly hold it off a little bit longer?" Kevin suggested hopefully. Gwen's smile faltered. Kevin's heart sank as he rushed to finish, "I'm just… I… Care about you Gwen." Kevin licked his lips nervously. Gwen sighed and began to pull away from him, but Kevin grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. He slowly brought her into his lap. Gwen tried smiling at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. Kevin's arms made their way around her waist, pulling her even closer. He brought her face inches from his, his gaze never wavering.

"Never doubt how much I care about you Gwen." His voice was low and urgent. Gwen bit her lip and looked down. "Hey no, Gwen, look at me." Kevin unwrapped one of his arms that was around her waist and cupped her cheek, like she had done earlier.

"God Gwen I…" Kevin took a deep breath before he continued. "You mean a lot to me. I'm just… I'm almost there, okay? I'm just… I don't want to hurt you." He said softly. Gwen opened her mouth to respond but he shook his head. "Let me finish girl." He gave her a small smile. "I'm really scared I'm going to screw up, and I don't want to do that to you. So just… Be patient with me. Okay?"

Kevin looked deep into her eyes. He could tell she was having an internal battle on whether or not to respond like she wanted. Gwen finally sighed and just nodded.

"I hate fighting with you Kev." She finally responded, wrapping her arms around his neck. He shot her a killer smile and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Then let's not fight. I could find lots of better things for you to do with your mouth than scream at me." Kevin joked, smirking as a thought crossed his mind. "Unless you're screaming my name…" He trailed off and Gwen burst out laughing, smacking his chest.

"Shut up Kevin." Gwen rolled her eyes and smiled. He grinned and leaned so close to her their mouths were centimeters apart. Gwen's breath caught in her throat.

"Make me." He whispered against her mouth. Gwen smiled and leaned forward.

Gwen pressed her lips against him, Kevin groaning as she pushed herself up against him.

"It's not nice to tease." Gwen gave him one last kiss before she began to pull away. Kevin shook his head quickly, pulling her back onto his lap.

"Nu uh. We've been fighting for the past day and hell, I've missed you." Kevin tightened his grip on her, as if he were afraid she would try to get up again. Gwen just smiled and leaned into him.

"Besides Gwen, don't I have some making up to do?"

Gwen looked up at him, her face lightening up as she remembered their deal. She smiled wickedly.

"Oh, I'm sure you can find a way to make it all up to me." She squealed as Kevin growled and picked her up bridal style, walking out the door.

"Kevin where are you taking me?" Gwen cried out, holding on to him tightly. Kevin glanced down and winked at her.

"I'm making it all up to you babe." He carried her out to the night, taking her home.

* * *

Ben sighed as he drove on the dark, lonely dirt road. He knew Gwen and Kevin would make up. Or make out. Or… Something else.

"I bet that's what they're doing right now." Ben muttered under his breath and shuddered in disgust.

He looked up ahead and frowned at the darkness. All that he could see were lots of trees. It was a moonless night. He hated those.

Suddenly he saw a bright light of orange and yellow and he hear a loud crash and tires screeching. Ben's eyes went wide and he sped up towards the explosion.

* * *

A girl waited behind a tree, glancing at the two men who walked around the remains of her bike. She held her breath as they studied their surroundings. Suddenly she heard a car not too far away. And by the sound of it she could tell this was one sweet ride. The men looked towards the direction of the car and then quickly started walking to theirs. They were talking to each other in soft angry tones. They quickly got inside their car and sped away, their tires screeching.

She waited until she was sure they were long gone and came out from behind the tree. She walked to the remains of her motorcycle. She turned into the direction that the guys went angrily.

"You destroyed my life and now my bike." She shook her head disgusted and bent down and picked up a piece of metal. She turned around and threw it. "Assholes!" She yelled furiously, not hearing the car pull up behind her.

"Such language." A voice said behind her, amused. The girl whipped around, startled. She saw a guy about her age leaning against his car. He had light brown hair and he was taller than her, wearing a light green jacket. And he was a little bit cute. Just a little bit. But she frowned anyway.

"What do you want?" She crossed her arms defiantly, glaring at the stranger. He raised his eyebrows, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Attitude much? Maybe I was going to ask if you needed help or something." He walked over to her, glancing around at the metal that was sprayed across the pavement.

"Yeah well, my mom told me once not to trust cute guys that are out in the middle of the night on an empty road." She glanced at him and smirked. She turned around and walked back to the tree she was hiding behind earlier. He followed her and chuckled.

"Yeah, well it looks like to me like you need some help." He waited for her as she walked back, a backpack now in her hand. She sighed.

"Look dude, I don't need your help okay." She shot him a look of exasperation. He pointed towards the remains of the bike.

"They kinda destroyed your ride." He stated, holding back a smug look. She glared at him, then glanced at her. She sighed wistfully.

"Point taken. Alright. Take me to the nearest gas station and I can find my way from there." She looked up at him. She couldn't make out his face because it was so dark.

"Okay." He agreed, motioning to the car, following her as she walked away from him. He had no intention of letting her go that easy. She took one last look at the remains of her bike and hesitated, sighing wistfully. She opened the passengers door slowly and sat down, waiting for the cute boy in the green jacket to come in. She studied the car and smiled. Just as she had thought, it was one nice car.

"Nice ride." She glanced at him as he sat down.

"Yeah. A friend of mine built it." He explained nonchalantly. She raised her eyebrows.

"Wow. He built it for you?" She asked incredulously. He started the car and glanced at her.

"Yeah. But then I kinda destroyed his car so he kinda wants it back soo…" He shrugged sheepishly. She stared at him, unimpressed. She rolled her eyes.

"If I were him, I would kill you." She shot him a look. He grinned.

"Somehow, I don't doubt that." He winked at her. She glared at him again.

"Look, I just gotta warn you those guys might come back and I really don't want you to get hurt." She glanced at the boy sitting next to her, frowning a bit.

"I'm used to stuff like this." He reassured her,

"Really?" She asked doubtfully. He just grinned at her.

"You have no idea. Since I'm basically your chauffeur for the night, don't you think I should know your name?" He drove straight ahead, passing the first gas station for the night.

"You just passed the gas station! There won't be another one for 20 miles!" She cried out, upset. She was facing the window as she turned around and smacked him.

"Hey! Hold the abuse until we've stopped at least! I don't want to crash." He chuckled lightly at the furious look on her face.

"Take me back this instant!" She smacked him again and Ben groaned.

"Hey look little missy, you need to stop that! It's too dangerous to leave you in the outskirts of town. At least let me drop you off in the town. It's safer there. Especially considering you were almost blown up tonight." He sighed in relief when she took her hand back and sat back, crossing her arms.

"So uh, what's your name?" He tried again, hoping she wouldn't slap him for asking.

"I don't know yours." She answered tersely.

"Ben Tennyson at your service, your local hero and stud." He winked at her, causing her to raise her eyebrows in disbelief. A smile tugged at her lips as a feeling of accomplishment washed over Ben as he noticed. He wanted to see her smile.

"Tennyson… Huh. That name sounds familiar." She bit her lip, pausing.

"What your name?" Ben asked, hoping to distract her as he quickly sent a text on his phone.

"Jackie." She didn't offer a last name, and Ben knew enough not to ask.

'_Jackie'. _He thought to himself. _'Huh. That suits her.'_

"Well Jackie. Would you care to tell me who those guys are behind us?" Ben glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a small car advancing in speed. Jackie spun her head around and cursed under her breath.

"Damn." She quickly took off her backpack and started looking for something franticly. Jackie looked up at him as he stared down at her, confused. "Have you ever really tested to see how fast this baby can go?"

"Uh no…"

"Well now's your chance." She pulled out a gun and cocked it. She looked at Ben, who gaped at her.

"Um… You know… I don't think that's such a good idea…." He said uneasily.

"Look Ben. I know these guys. I know how they are." She looked at him determinedly. "Step on the pedal. They're catching up on us." She unbuckled herself and rolled down the window. Ben just sighed and pressed on the gas, wondering what on earth he had gotten himself into.

When he looked in the rearview mirror Ben saw the car pulling up from behind. A hand with a gun was now pointing at them. He glanced at Jackie. She looked angry and Ben could see she knew exactly what she was doing.

Ben glanced at the omnitrix and desperately wanted to use it but he realized it was no use. He had to drive. And if he tried to change now they would crash.

_'Damnit. I have this thing to save lives and now I can't even use it.' _He thought angrily.

He glanced at Jackie. She turned to him and they locked eyes for a split second, his heart speeding up. Then she looked back and she pointed the gun to the car behind and fired.

The car began to swerve out of control. They quickly fired back and Jackie shrieked as Ben tried to regain control of the car. She quickly fired again and again. Ben groaned as he heard the back window shield crack as the men fired again.

"Thank God Kevin put double glass…" He muttered to himself. Jackie pulled the gun back inside and loaded it with something bigger.

"Umm… Jackie... What is that?" Ben asked cautiously, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer. She looked up at him grimly.

"Something I really wanted to save for later but looks like we're going to have to use it now." She quickly got back out there as there and waited. The car started coming closer and closer.

"Um, Jackie any day now!" Ben called out to her frantically. She ignored him and waited until she knew she was going to hit them.

"Bastards! That's for destroying my bike!" She shouted angrily. She fired, hitting the car dead on. "Ben GO!" She screamed. Ben pushed on the gas just as the car behind exploded. The sky was ignited with fire. Jackie looked back and narrowed her eyes at the scene that was displayed. She turned around and sat down, taking a deep shaky breath.

"Well… That was pretty intense." Ben stated after a moment of silence. Jackie just rolled her eyes and yawned.

"All in a day's work." She quirked. Ben just shook his head, once again wondering what on earth this girl was into.

He began to slow down as he pulled over. "Let me just check the damage." He told her. Jackie nodded.

Ben got out of the car and groaned as he took in the sight of the back of the car.

_'Damn. Kevin is going to kill me.'_

The glass was cracked and the back of the car was smoking. It was scratched and dented. Ben just shook his head and walked back to the car.

"How bad?" Jackie asked as he sat down. Ben just shrugged. He turned to her and he finally got a good look at the girl who had brought him so much trouble that night.

Jackie had long loose wavy hair that was so black it looked almost blue. She was wearing skinny jeans that were covered with dust and a gray hoodie that looked old and warn. She was also small but fierce. She had no jewelry except for a dark red stone that was on a black string. It looked ancient and valuable. Jackie had long lashes and big brown eyes. But they were angry. Her eyes were filled with anger, and pain.

Ben wondered what had happened to her to make her like that. But nonetheless he took notice how gorgeous she really was, under all the dirt and soot. In fact, she was beautiful. He shook those thoughts from his head.

"You know… you remind me of someone. I just… I just don't know who." He studied her for another moment. Jackie just shrugged.

"Ex-girlfriend?" Jackie suggested. A picture of Elena popped in Ben's mind. Even with all the dirt and soot, she couldn't compare to the girl in front of him.

"Nah. You're way more… " Ben trailed off softly, not finishing the sentence. He cleared his throat as she glanced at him curiously.

"Well anyway, there is no way I'm letting you go anywhere by yourself tonight." He quickly changed the subject.

"What?" Jackie exclaimed, her eyes growing wide with anger.

"Jacks, we were just chased down by two guys who were shooting us for God knows why, and if you think I'm going to drop you off at a gas station you got another thing coming." Ben started the car and got back on the road.

"Jacks." She said flatly. She had said nothing through his mini rampage, ignoring most of what he said.

"Huh? Oh. It just slipped in. Sorry." Ben grinned at her. Jackie narrowed her eyes at him.

"Whatever." She muttered. "Where are we going?" She asked suddenly, realizing that they were no longer out in the country.

"Somewhere safe. I already told them we were coming so you have nothing to worry about." Ben reassured her. She sighed deeply and rubbed her head.

"You don't want to get involved with me." Jackie shot him a look, hoping he would take the hint.

"No." He locked eyes with her. He didn't know what it was, but he wanted to help her. "I'm already involved in this and I already told you, I'm used to this kind of stuff." He told her firmly.

Jackie sighed and leaned back. She decided she was going to make a run for it when they got there and everyone was asleep.

"Don't even think that." Ben smirked at her as she looked at him surprised. "You can't do this alone." He nudged her.

Jackie looked up at him, at his concerned face and a warm feeling spread throughout her body at his words.

And for the first time that night, she smiled.

* * *

"This is it." Ben had finally pulled into an old mechanic workshop and gas station. Jackie glanced around as she got out of the car. It was dark except for the small light that was shining for within the store. She grabbed her backpack and waited for Ben at the door.

"Come on. They're waiting for us." Ben grabbed her hand and practically dragged her in the store.

_'Us?'_ She thought warily.

Ben pulled her into the back of the store. He looked down at his hand and realized he was still holding hers. He blushed and dropped it.

"So where are you taking me exactly?" She crossed her arms. Ben just grinned and unlocked a dark green door. When he opened it, an elevator door opened. Jackie raised her eyebrows.

The elevator led them to a huge lab room that held a ton of expensive equipment. Jackie looked around and whistled. This place was loaded.

"Gwen and everyone are right… Hey guys!" Ben called out to a group of people.

Jackie hesitated. She hated meeting new people. She sighed and turned around, her eyes sweeping the room.

There was an old man with a lot of white hair that was combed back, another man who was younger, but still in his middle ages. His eyes were dark and he had… a lack of hair. There was a girl standing near him who looked a bit like him. She had short black hair and looked her age. There was another girl who had red hair pulled up in a ponytail. She looked smart.

She glanced at the boy standing next to the red head and froze, the feeling of immense sadness and complete resentment washing over her all at once. They locked eyes.

"J…Jackie?" His face had gone into complete shock. Jackie narrowed her eyes in response.

"Kevin." She stated coolly crossing her arms.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his eyes widened with wonder as he was still trying to process that she was standing right in front of him.

"I should ask you the same thing." She said icily. Ben looked between the two with a confused look on his face.

"You know him?" Ben frowned at Kevin, confused and a bit irritated.

"Wow Kevin. You didn't even bother to tell them about me. Shoulda figured." Her voice went cold and hard. She nodded towards Ben. "Know him?" She chuckled bitterly, her gaze never wavering from Kevin.

"Yeah I think I would know him. He's my brother."


	4. Chapter 4

**_RE-EDITED VERSION_**

* * *

**RECAP:**_  
_

**__**_"J…Jackie?" His face had gone into complete shock. Jackie narrowed her eyes in response._

_"Kevin." She stated coolly crossing her arms._

_"What are you doing here?" He asked, his eyes widened with wonder as he was still trying to process that she was standing right in front of him._

_"I should ask you the same thing." She said icily. Ben looked between the two with a confused look on his face._

_"You know him?" Ben frowned at Kevin, confused and a bit irritated._

_"Wow Kevin. You didn't even bother to tell them about me. Shoulda figured." Her voice went cold and hard. She nodded towards Ben. "Know him?" She chuckled bitterly, her gaze never wavering from Kevin._

_"Yeah I think I would know him. He's my brother."_

* * *

The room had gone into an uneasy silence after the shocking information. Kevin had paled, avoiding everyone's gaze. Elena and her father had left, not wanting to be around the family angst. Gwen and Ben were speechless, not knowing how to react to the sudden information about the raven haired teen they thought they had known. Max did not look surprised, keeping calm and having everyone sit at the table to discuss the events of the night.

Jackie was sitting down next to Ben, angry and distant. Ben glanced at her worriedly, not knowing what to expect from the girl that intrigued him. He supposed if she was related to Kevin, he had better watch her temper.

Ben then glanced across the table at Kevin. Gwen was looking at him, her hand on his arm in a comforting manner. She looked confused but was trying to be supportive, despite the fact she was clearly hurt that she hadn't known about Kevin's only living family.

Ben wasn't sure what he felt. He felt miffed that Kevin hadn't told them about his sister, they had saved the world together and all. And he considered Kevin a good friend, probably his best. And Ben knew that Kevin cared deeply for Gwen. They were the two closest people to him. Why hadn't he told them?

Ben knew that Kevin still had his secrets. He understood that Kevin had been through a lot in his past. But what was so terrible that he couldn't share it with them?

Ben turned to Jackie who looked angry and ready to bolt. She clearly didn't share any love lost over her brother, in fact she refused to look at him. She fiddled with the stone around her neck, her knee jumping up and down in anxiety. Ben noticed her glancing at the door, most likely trying to figure out the fastest way out of here without being stopped.

"Jacklynn Marie Levin." Max said suddenly, breaking Ben from his thoughts. "Last time I you, you were three years old, taking after your brother with all the trouble he had gotton into even at that young of age." Max chuckled, leaning back in his chair, smiling as if Jackie were an old niece visiting for the first time in years.

"Well a lot has changed since then." Jackie responded tersely.

"Wait… So you knew about her?" Gwen cut in sharply, sending an accusing glare her Grandfather's way. Max sighed and nodded.

"How is your mother?" Max asked Jackie with a concerned look, avoiding Gwen's glare. Jackie shifted uncomfortably, her hard demeanor slipping a bit.

"Dead." She answered curtly, looking down twisting her hands. Ben noticed her hands were shaking slightly, and he had the strongest urge to reach over and take her hands in his. He didn't.

"What?" Kevin asked softly, in a disbelieving tone. Jackie stilled at the sudden sound of his voice and took a deep breath; finally looking up at the boy she had once called a brother. Her glare hardened.

"Yes. She died a couple of weeks ago, not that you would know Kevin." She snapped her voice no longer shaky, but angry. Kevin flinched, though his gaze never leaving hers.

"How?"

Jackie snorted and shook her head angrily.

"It doesn't matter now." She bit out bitterly. "And besides," She continued, her eyes narrowing at him. "You don't deserve to know what happened after you abandoned your family."

"I'm not dad. I didn't leave you guys by choice!" Kevin snapped back angrily, standing up and putting his hands on the table. Jackie stood up as well, clenching her fists as if she wanted to punch something.

"Yes you did!" She yelled. "And dad never left by choice! Something happened to him!" Jackie's look was murderous as Kevin scoffed.

"How many times do I have to tell you, he left us Jackie! He's dead somewhere, you know that!" Kevin groaned, having had this conversation a million times before.

Ben and Gwen were bouncing back and forth between the siblings, fascinated and a little nervous with where the conversation was going.

"Enough! The both of you! Sit!" Max finally cut in sharply. Jackie and Kevin glared at him, quieting immediately. Kevin hesitated, glancing back at Jackie, before sitting down slowly. Jackie stood, shaking with anger and something else Ben couldn't decipher. She didn't sit down, shaking her head slowly.

"God, screw this." Jackie turned away suddenly, and began to walk out quickly. Kevin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, Gwen frowning and looking to her Grandfather. Max stood up as well, about to walk after her but Ben jumped up quicker.

"Jackie wait!" Ben cried out, jogging to catch up with her. She walked quicker, not wanting to speak to him.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her back gently. Jackie turned around and tried pulling away from him, glaring at him angrily.

"Let. Me. Go." She hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Ben shook his head firmly, grabbing her other wrist. His grip tightened slightly, though he made sure not to hurt her.

"You need help Jackie." He pulled her towards him almost roughly, having her almost pressed up against him. "You can't do this alone." He told her as his tone softened. "You have nowhere else to go." He continued softly.

Jackie faltered, knowing he was right. She had no answers, her supplies were running low, and she had no idea where to go from here. She was lost.

"We can help you Jackie." Max's voice boomed, interrupting their conversation. Ben glanced back at the rest of them, noticing their gaze was glued to the two of them.

Ben dropped Jackie's wrists, almost hesitantly.

"I don't know if I want any help from people who are associated with_ him_." Jackie crossed her arms, not meeting her brother's frustrated gaze.

"Wasn't there someone trying to kill you tonight?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow. Jackie shrugged, not bothering to answer.

"Come on Jacks." Ben murmured softly to her. She glanced up at him, her heart speeding up when she realized how close he was. "I saved your life tonight." He cocked an eyebrow, smiling slightly. "You owe me."

Jackie frowned, hating that Ben was right. She sighed and shot him a look. Ben winked and pushed her softly, making her walk back to the table. Jackie walked back slowly, wishing that Ben had let her run out.

This was the last place where she wanted to be. She hesitantly sat back down, Ben taking his place next to her.

"Okay, can someone please inform me with what's going on here?" Gwen blurted out loudly, fed up with not knowing anything. Everyone turned to her as she blushed, murmuring an apology.

Max cleared his throat.

"I agree with Gwen. Ben, Jackie, I would like a recap of the events that happened tonight. But first, I would like to explain to the two of you," he pointed to Gwen and Ben, "how I know the Levin's."

"Arthur and Nancy Levin were part of the original founders of the plumbers, along with myself and a couple of others. We were close friends, and I did know Kevin and Jackie when they were children. Things were great, but hard at that time. Arthur did take off, not telling anyone where he was going or why." Max shook his head at Jackie when she opened her mouth to argue. He continued on.

"You and Kevin know about that. I don't know what happened, but I do know your parents were having a lot of problems. It wasn't long after that, that your mother left, with the two of you in tow. We kept in contact at first with phone calls and emails. But soon it all stopped. I wanted to find your mother, make sure everything was okay, but she had cut herself off from the plumbers and we had no way of contacting her. The next time I even heard about her was a couple of years later when we met Kevin." Max finished, looking at his grandkids, then turned to Jackie.

"I am truly sorry about your mother. She was a great friend, and she was incredibly brave. I want to help you in any way I can." Max told her seriously, his face filled with remorse. Jackie nodded slowly and responded with a quiet "thank you".

Ben glanced at Kevin and Gwen, wondering how Kevin was taking the sudden news of his mother's death. His face was blank, but rather pale. He was gripping Gwen's hand tightly, looking straight ahead, not making eye contact with anyone.

"I'm just glad the two of you are safe." Max continued, changing the subject. "Jackie, Ben gave us the run down through his message earlier. Do you have any idea why there were men hunting for you, making you their next practice target?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jackie shook her head slowly, pursing her lips. "Honestly, no. My mom never told me anything. We moved around often and she never explained why. I can't tell you anything that you probably don't know already. After my mom died…" Jackie trailed off, her voice going soft, holding back tears while avoiding everyone's gaze. She took in a shaky breath.

"After my mom died," her voice got stronger as she continued her story, "I knew it wasn't safe for me to stay home. I had known that we were on the run; I knew that there was something my mom wasn't telling me. Once, after we had moved to a new house, I went back to my old one two weeks later. The place was wrecked, the windows smashed and everything. I knew that it was a matter of time before they found me, so I took off. That was about three weeks ago. I've been on the road ever since." She finished, looking up at everyone.

"And you're absolutely positive your mother is dead?" Max asked seriously, studying her intently.

Jackie nodded gravely, something flashing across her face. She couldn't verbally answer, afraid she would burst the waterworks that always threatened to release when anything about her mother was mentioned.

Max sighed heavily. "I know you're telling the truth, I was just hoping that… Well…" He trailed off, looking down. He looked back up at Jackie.

"We're going to do everything in our power to help you out Jackie. We will get to the bottom of this." Max stood up, signaling that the conversation was now over.

Gwen stayed sitting as everyone else stood up as well, making plans for the night.

She glanced at Kevin, who was now standing next to his sister, though she was ignoring him. His _sister_. She still couldn't wrap her mind around it. She knew family was a subject Kevin never spoke about, but it hurt her that he didn't trust her enough to tell her about this. She wasn't sure how she should feel about everything.

Jackie was clearly angry with her brother, and from the sounds of it, it looked like she wouldn't be forgiving him anytime soon. But Gwen knew Kevin. He was protective over the ones he loved and she could already see his mind forming plans when he realized the danger his sister was in. Jackie being angry with him wouldn't change the fact that he wanted to protect her.

Gwen then glanced at her grandfather. She knew that he was telling the truth, but she sensed there was more to the story that he wasn't telling them. Jackie's life was in danger; Gwen knew that her Grandpa Max knew more than he was letting on.

She also had taken notice when Ben had gone after Jackie when she tried to escape earlier. He was intrigued by her, she knew her cousin like the back of her hand. She hoped he knew what he was getting himself into.

And lastly, Gwen finally turned to Jackie. She was small, but size never mattered. Jackie was strong; she had to be after what she had been through. Though Gwen no longer lived with her parents, she didn't know what she would do if they were both gone. She sensed that there was more to Jackie's story than she told them tonight. She was an angry person, that much she could tell. She reminded Gwen so much of Kevin when she had first met him. Closed off to the world, angry and bitter. Not that he had changed much over the years.

Gwen's gaze flickered to Kevin momentarily, a small smile tugging at her lips despite the confused feelings she was feeling towards him at the moment.

She looked back at Jackie, wondering what secrets this girl was hiding. Secrets that were obviously dangerous. Something was coming, something big, Gwen could feel it.

She just hoped it wouldn't get them killed in the process.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I'm sure y'all are all wondering where I've been, what's my excuse and.. Well... (looks in box of ****excuses) I've got none... I'M SORRY. **

**BUT good news is that I'm on Christmas break with NO HOMEWORK so I'll try and work on this as much as possible, though I make no promises. I'm a terrible human being, I know. Still working on the re-writes of this story! Anywhoo, please read and on and enjoy!**

**_RE-EDITED VERSION_  
**

* * *

Ben groaned as the light peeked in through his window, waking him up. He shifted in his bed, burying his head in his pillow. He was on the verge of falling back asleep when he heard a loud crash and a muttering of curses that would make even Kevin raise a brow. Ben opened an eye and sat up in bed, yawning. He decided to check out the crash, just in case it was an alien or something and he needed to save the world. He got up and glanced back at his bed wistfully.

'_The world can wait a couple of more minutes… Can't it?'_ Ben turned to his bed once more, when something else crashed and someone cried out, followed by another string of curses a bit louder this time. Ben sighed and made his way to the noise.

As he walked into the kitchen he found Jackie standing over a small stove that had a pot, glaring at it as if it had burned her. There were some pots all over the floor, a high cabinet connected to the wall to the left of Jackie's head that was open, full of unorganized pots that were most likely the source of all the crashing.

Ben leaned against the wall, his eyes filling with amusement as Jackie cautiously glanced at the pot, as if expecting it to explode any moment. His eyes traveled up and down her figure, appreciating her bare legs that were uncovered by the plain gray large t-shirt she was wearing that came down just above her knees.

"I don't think it's going to bite." Ben called out from behind, trying not to laugh as Jackie whirled around, glaring at him.

"I know that Tennyson." Jackie huffed, holding one of her hands in the other. Ben quirked an eyebrow and walked over to her, eyeing her hand.

"You sound just like him when you say that. Only more lady like, and not as annoying." Ben chuckled at the glare she shot him, taking her injured hand and turning it over, checking for injuries. There was a red mark below her thumb that was raw and beginning to become swollen. Jackie tried to take her hand away and Ben shook his head at her.

"It's fine." She muttered. Ben pressed his finger lightly against the burn as Jackie winced.

"No, I don't think so." He said gently. Ben looked down at her, his heart momentarily stopping as her eyes locked with his. Her deep brown eyes were full of pain and caution, due to the fact that he was so close to her. Jackie's thick black hair was damp and wavy, naturally framing her face. She wore no make-up and again, Ben was struck with the fact that she needed none. His hand itched to cup her face, but she cleared her throat, turning away from him.

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, much less a little burn." Jackie retorted as she tried to step away from him, hitting a pot as she backs away. She swore again. Ben chuckled and motioned to the cabinet near her.

"There should be some cream in the first aid kit in that cabinet there. I'll take care of breakfast." Ben smirked at her when she threw another glare at him. He could hear her muttering under her breath as she turned and reached up to the cabinet to get the cream.

Jackie opened the cabinet and saw the cream on the very top shelf. She inwardly groaned when she realized she wouldn't be able to reach it. Jackie could feel Ben's eyes boring into her as she was contemplating in what she was going to do. She could lift herself onto the counter with her hands… Well, with one hand and then…

Suddenly a large arm reached from behind her and easily grabbed the cream. Jackie spun around, locking eyes once again with Ben. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized just how close he was. So close she could smell him. He could easily trap her with both of his arms. He was looking down at her as if trying to figure her out. His green eyes seemed to probe into her soul. Jackie wasn't sure how she felt about that, or how she felt about him in general.

"Looking for this?" Ben smirked at her as he held up the cream. Jackie frowned and grabbed the cream.

"Thanks." She grumbled. Ben just laughed as she opened the cream and applied it to her wound, avoiding his gaze. Ben turned around and finished putting away the pots. He glanced at the pot on the stove and noticed an egg in a little bit of water, the rest spilled on the stove. He smiled a bit at the thought of Jackie trying to boil an egg and failing miserably.

"Why don't I just make us some scrambled eggs with bacon? Can you handle the toast?" Ben teased her, turning around to catch the look that she shot him.

"Yes!" Jackie snapped. She paused for a moment and asked in a quieter voice, "Umm… Where's the toast?"

Ben chuckled. "Cabinet to the left, bottom shelf and the toaster is in the corner over there on the counter, butter and jam in the fridge if you want any," he answered as he mopped up the water and put aside the egg in cold water. Ben cracked some eggs and put bacon on a hot pan. He heard Jackie shuffling, and then the toaster ding as it went down.

Jackie went over to the fridge and grabbed the butter and jam, setting it on the table and grabbed a knife out of the silverware drawer that she had found exploring earlier. She then sat down at the table and studied her surroundings.

The kitchen was small, a small window to the right, above the sink. There was a white fridge next to where the counter ended, the counter following the wall. The stove was in the corner to the left, near the sink. The cabinets were above the counter to the right. It was small and cozy for a lab under a gas station.

"Do you really live here?" Jackie asked as she sat in a chair, her eyes now studying the back of Ben as he cooked.

"Yeah. I lived with my parents until they took off on their permanent vacation. I moved here with Grandpa Max so I could work full time with him and the plumbers. Gwen has her own apartment and Kevin goes over a lot. He actually lives here though."

Jackie frowned at the mention of her brother, and bit her tongue at the nasty retort she had forming in her mind and instead focused her attention onto the brown-haired boy who was currently fixing her breakfast. Ben began humming, pouring the hot eggs onto a plate, grabbing some cups and pouring orange juice into them.

She truly did not know what to think, or how to feel about this guys who had so readily taken her under his wing without a second thought, within fifteen minutes in which he had met her; who was also now cooking her breakfast— which actually smelled quite good.

*Ding!*

The toaster went off, Ben placing the toast onto the plate which held their breakfast. He turned around and smiled, holding up the plate and curtsied.

"Bon apetite!" He grinned cheekily at her. Jackie just shook her head slightly, a small smile tugging at her lips. She shifted to a chair and grabbed a piece of toast, spreading jam eagerly.

Ben raised an eyebrow, "Got enough jam there?"

"No."

"Just checking."

Jackie started eating at a rapid pace, piling eggs and bacon on top of the toast, taking huge bites at a time. Ben's lip twitched in amusement as he pushed the plate to her, letting Jackie eat the rest. Her eyes shot up to his.

"Sorry. I haven't eaten an actual meal in a long time." Jackie shrugged, almost sheepish. Ben frowned in concern.

"How long?"

"… I don't know." She shrugged, taking another bite. She chewed a bit more slowly, as if savoring the flavor. "Two, three weeks? Time flies by when you're running for your life."

Ben sat back, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought about her running for her survival. Like an animal being hunted. He tensed, not liking the idea of someone out there trying to kill her. Jackie finished her eggs, looking up at him, raising a brow.

"What's got your pannies in a bunch?"

'_The thought of some bastard trying to kill you.' _He thought, but instead said, "Get dressed. We're going out." He hopped up, his face brightening at the idea forming in his mind.

"What?"

"We're going out. Come on! You don't wanna be cooped up in here all day long. Besides, you have to try this diner that's in town. It's the best." Ben glanced down at her, noticing how she just looked at him, not seeming to want to get up. Ben sighed.

"I'll let you drive the car." Jackie visibly brightened.

"Well what are you waiting for? Let's go Tennyson!"

* * *

"Gwen… Gwen!" Kevin called out to her wearily.

He had stayed at the lab last night, wanting to make sure his sister was settled, though without letting her know he was there. She clearly didn't want to see him, not that he could really blame her. Granted, it wasn't entirely his fault, but he never explained to her why he left. He just hoped that now that they were together again, he could have a chance at his redemption.

But first, he needed to get Gwen to start talking to him again. Everything last night had been a blur, but Gwen had held his hand the entire time, never once letting go. He hadn't really had a chance to think about what was going through her mind, as his long lost sister whom he had never mentioned suddenly showed up with little Benji last night. He knew he'd better get prepared for some yelling, hitting, cursing, the works. But when he has knocked on her door this morning, all she had done was open the door and walked away, letting him come in on his own.

She was in the kitchen making tea, as she always did when she needed to calm down. Kevin cautiously walked into the kitchen, biting his lip as he leaned against the doorway, eyeing her as she sat down at the table, not bothering to look up at him.

"Gwen…" He started softly, wincing as she tensed at her name. She took a deep breath, and motioned for him to sit down. He hurriedly sat in the chair across from her at her small, round table.

"Kevin, I am trying really hard right now to not say anything that's going to upset you." She finally looked up at him, her big green eyes meeting his. Kevin's eyes widened in shock.

"What? Why? You should be angry with me, wanting to rip my head off demanding it on a stake!"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Always with the dramatics Kev." She drawled, but then hesitated. "Don't get me wrong. I'm really angry with you." She cocked her head, her eyes seeming to grow sadder. "Hurt mostly, that you didn't trust me enough to tell me what happened." Kevin opened his mouth to interrupt, but Gwen held up her hand, stopping him.

"The thing is Kevin, I don't keep anything hidden from you. I feel…. Felt… That I knew you so well, and suddenly you have another family member that I've never heard of. I can't hold the fact that maybe you have something dark in your past that you don't want to talk about against you. But this…. Thing between us is supposed to be mutual. And right now… I feel like there's so much to you that I don't know anymore. It's confusing and I'm angry and I'm hurt, and I don't know what to do about it." She paused, taking another breath.

"But I want you to know…. You've got me on your side. I'm not leaving you." She gave him a small smile. Kevin sat there, gob-smacked that she was reacting the way she was.

'_I really don't deserve her_.'

"I really don't deserve you." Gwen snorted.

"No. You don't." She smirked, teasing him. But she suddenly drew away, growing serious.

"Why didn't you tell me Kevin?" Her voice soft, laced with hurt. Kevin closed his eyes, sighing.

"It's just that…Fuck, Gwen. It's not that I don't trust you, because fuck, I really do. Really, I _do_." He grabbed her hand, locking his pleading eyes with hers.

"When I was eleven and I always fought Ben and all of that shit that went down… It was after I left home and I was lost and confused, and not to mention dangerous. It was a pretty dark time for me, which is pretty fucking sad because I was only eleven years old. I left home, left my family and I pushed them out because I hate thinking about leaving them the way my dad left us. I was supposed to protect them and hold them together, and I destroyed whatever family I had left. But Gwen, you have got to believe me when I tell you I didn't want too." Kevin's voice grew desperate.

"I love my sister and… I loved my mom." His eyes squeezed shut as a wave of grief overcame him. Gwen stood up and went to hold him, tears pricking at her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Gwen, that I didn't tell you, or Benji. I really am. It's just that… That part of my past is something I hate thinking about, so I don't. It's complicated and messy and with Jackie here… It's… I…" He trailed off, looking down, unsure how to go on.

"Kevin." Gwen stated softly, grabbing his chin and making him look up at her. "I know. I'm hurt, but you don't have to explain to me at this moment, alright? I want you to talk to me, I want to understand why you didn't tell me. This won't be easy, but I want to help make this better for you." She kissed his lips softly, feeling him push against her.

Kevin pressed his forehead against hers, utterly confused and awed at the fact Gwen was willing to stay in his life.

"Why?" He murmured, looking deep into those green eyes that kept drowning him over and over again. Gwen smiled a bit.

"Because that's what you do when you… Care about someone." She said softly, pulling him tight into her arms.

Kevin just rested his head on her shoulder, his heart pounding with the disappointment that she hadn't said a different four letter word that he had desperately wanted to hear.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey guys! So I was working on this last night, and I wanted to quickly put it out there, especially since it's been so long. Tell me what you thing and enjoy!**

_**RE-EDITED VERSION**_

* * *

Jackie smirked as she glanced at Ben's face, which was laced with worry. Though, she did have to give him props for attempting to hide it from her. She snorted. The little punk couldn't handle just a bit of speed.

"Umm… Jackie…?" Ben's voice came out a pitch higher than normal felt a grin pulling at her lips. She had been doing that a lot more than usual in the past two days, though she wouldn't ever mention it out loud.

"Yes, Benny-boy?" She replied pleasantly, speeding up ever so slightly. She felt Ben glare at her as he cleared his throat.

"Umm… Don't you think we're going a little bit too fast?" He asked cautiously. Jackie glanced at the speed, which read 110 miles per hour. She shrugged.

"Not really. Can't handle it Tennyson?" She looked at him, smirking.

"No! I mean, yes! I just don't feel like dying!" He snapped back. Jackie barked a laugh. "Look!" He cried out desperately. "There's a clearing… right over there…" He looked on sadly as they pasted the clearing quickly, his hope dying.

Suddenly his body was lurched to the side as his head hitting the window as they pulled into a sudden stop. Ben's heart raced his eyes wide with… Well, something that Jackie couldn't decipher. She rolled the windows down, and laid the chair back, welcoming the silence that was brought by the clearing that she had pulled into.

The sun was beginning to set, an alright end to a pretty alright day. Ben and Jackie had mostly driven around all day long, eating here and there. He hadn't taken her to the diner he was so fond of, but he had promised to take her soon. Jackie didn't want to admit it, but she actually had some fun that day. Ben's voice suddenly cut through her thoughts.

"Maybe I should drive…"

"No." Jackie didn't even bother to open her eyes. "You are so not worthy to drive this car if you aren't even willing to risk a little damage."

Ben rolled his eyes, taking notice once again how much alike Jackie and Kevin were. Though he would never tell her that… Again. One death glare had been more than enough for him.

"… Jackie…?"

"Mmmm?"

Ben turned to glance at her, and paused. Her eyes were closed, with a small, satisfied smile placed on her lips. Her long lashed swooped down, hair shinning with the slightest hint of blue as the sun hit her hair as if a halo. Ben found that he couldn't look away, his eyes moving all over her face, and finally resting on her lips. It would be so easy to just lean over and…

"You're staring again." Jackie drawled. Ben's head shot up, flushing a bit, grateful her eyes were still closed. Ben cleared this throat.

"I was going to ask you about yesterday… Those guys… And… stuff…" Ben stuttered, mentally kicking himself as his words stumbled out. Jackie sighed and opened her eyes.

"Don't wanna talk about it Ben." She said, her voice terse and her notes clipped. Ben frowned.

"Look Jackie, we need to talk about this. We need to come up with some ideas, figure out who the hell has been tailing you and trying to kill you."

Jackie sat up, turning to him. "Look Ben… I appreciate what you guys have done for me and all, but this is _my_ problem. Not yours." Her voice turned hard as she finished. Ben shook his head slowly. He had been avoiding the subject all day long, but he knew they needed to really discuss the subject, if only she would talk to him about it.

"No. This became my problem the night I picked you up. I willingly let it become my problem. And when you turned out to be Kevin's sister, you became his problem. We want to help. We are a part of this now." He said firmly. Jackie narrowed her eyes.

"Kevin is not my family." She said coolly. "And I am not your responsibility, and I don't need your help." Jackie glared at him.

"I— we care about you. We want to help."

"You don't even know me." She snapped. Jackie groaned and muttered under her breath, turning away from him. She started the car, pulling into reverse and sped out of the clearing. Ben sat there, feeling frustrated.

"Jackie…" He stared.

"Drop it Ben."

Jackie stared straight ahead, not even sparing a look at him. Ben sat back, angry at himself, angry at her, and angry at the fact that she could pull away so suddenly while he was left wanting more.

* * *

Jackie pulled into the parking lot of the shop, the sun already beginning to set. She pulled at the keys and tossed them to Ben, not even bothering to see if he caught them or not. Ben slowly got out of the car as he watched her walk purposefully into the shop, not looking back at him.

Ben sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit.

"Yo! Benji!" He heard a familiar voice call out. Ben turned around, seeing a dark silluete in the shadows, not being able to see their face, as the sun had already gone down. Ben started walking towards it, not bothering to hesitate. He knew that voice.

"Hey Kev." Ben replied dejectedly, still feeling put out about Jackie. Kevin raised his eyebrows at Ben's behavior.

"Well hello to you too. What's got your pannies in a bunch?"

Ben looked up at him, slightly startled at the familiar saying. He shook his head, he really shouldn't be surprised. They were siblings after all. _Siblings. _

He has almost forgotten that Jackie's brother was Kevin. Well, he knew. He just forgot that _Kevin_ so conveniently forgot to tell _him_.

"I was out with your sister all day long. You know, the one that you forgot to mention."

Kevin shuffled in the dark, glad Ben couldn't see his face.

"Uh… Yeah… Sorry about that… Ben, look…"

Ben nudged Kevin, cutting him off.

"Forget it Kevin. Yeah, it sucks you didn't tell me. But you'll tell me when you're ready." Ben said steadily. "It's not like anything's really changed. I'm still Benji. You've still got abnormally large arms. We're still the best of friends." Kevin rolled his eyes, though smiled in relief.

"Only now you've got a sister who's as stubborn and as big of a pain in the ass as you are." He finished. Kevin grunted, not disagreeing.

"I could've told you that."

"She's a real piece of work." Ben said thoughtfully and not unkindly. Kevin just grunted once again in response.

"You talk to Gwen?" Ben asked, leaning against the wall. He knew his cousin must be feeling hurt from yesterday's news.

"Yeah. For some reason she's forgiven me and sticking with me." Kevin shook his head as if he still couldn't believe it. Ben smiled.

"Sounds like her." He said carefully, knowing how touchy of a subject Gwen was for Kevin.

"Don't know why she's doin it. But I'm not complaining." Kevin wiped his hands on a dirty rag, sighing. Ben walked further in to the garage, so he could see Kevin better.

"And as for you… Uh… Well…" Kevin shuffled, feeling awkward. He cleared his throat, scratching the nape of his neck. He could do feelings with Gwen, but only because he's had years of practice with her. Feelings in general was something he was still working on.

"I get it Kevin." Ben held back a snicker; the sight of Kevin trying to express how he felt was something that would be forever amusing to him.

"Nah, look man. I screwed up. And I wanted to say sorry. And… Uh… I'm really fucking glad you're not mad at me." Kevin finished, his shoulders sagging with relief as he finally got the words out.

Ben was quiet for a moment, then opened his arms for a hug, standing there with a serious look on his face. Kevin's eyes narrowed at him.

"What the fuck Tennyson." Kevin took a step back and groaned. "Why you always gotta be so weird?"

Ben just grinned and kept his arms open, saying nothing as he waited for Kevin to give him a hug.

"That's creepy."

Kevin groaned when Ben didn't move. He sighed heavily. He walked over and hesitated, before stepping near Ben, and patting him on the back lightly on the back. He grunted when Ben pulled him into a bear hug, letting it last for a split second before he pushed him away.

"Enough Tennyson." Kevin said lowly as he stepped away from him.

Ben stood there for a moment, and suddenly burst out laughing. He bent over, slapping his knee, howling with amusement. Kevin stood there, glaring at him.

"Should've seen the look on your face Kev. Didn't think you would do it." Ben laughed, wiping a fake tear out of his eye.

Kevin just rolled his eyes as he started packing up. "Look… I'm going over to Gwen's tonight."

It was Ben's turn to roll his eyes. "I don't see why you just don't move in with her already." Kevin shrugged, not answering.

"And what about Jackie?" Ben asked. "Max went out again, which I have no idea where he is by the way. And now you're leaving… So… It'll just be me and her… Alone…" Ben trailed off. He would be somewhat thrilled with this revelation, but he was thinking about how she slammed the door earlier and didn't bother looking back at him.

Kevin shrugged. "She hates you a lot less than she hates me. If I stay here while she's here, I know she'll take off. Besides, she'll get over being mad at you. I've got at least ten years worth of anger coming at me." Kevin suddenly sounded very tired as he finished putting up his things and headed towards another car.

"You're not taking Shiela?" Ben called out, thinking fondly of the car he and Kevin always fought over.

"Nah. You'll need her to get Jackie to go with you… Well, anywhere. Later Tennyson." Kevin started in the car, hopped in and took off like a bullet.

Ben just shook his head and went inside, locking up the shop. It would never cease to amaze him at how much alike Kevin and Jackie were.

Ben finally reached the elevator, his thoughts never straying from the raven haired beauty on his way down.

* * *

Tonight was the night for memories.

Ever since her talk with Ben, Jackie's past had been clawing at her mind, desperate to get out. Ben wanted to come up with ideas, find the men who wanted to kill her, who had killed her mother. She didn't want to tell him that she had absolutely no idea what was going on, that she was scared and sad and lost.

She didn't want to tell him anything.

But at the same time, she wanted him to know.

Confused, she decided to get away from him, wanting to be alone with her thoughts.

Jackie walked around in the room Max had given her. Though underground, it has a small window near the ceiling, where she could see the dark night. It was a basement window, of sorts. It was a bit larger than one, and it has a seating with cushions, like one might find in a fancy house; though this one was less grand and old and worn out.

She sat down, looking up at the stars. This place, this town, these people confused her. She wasn't used to being cared for by people other than family. When she was younger, she had grown up in a loving home. But those memories were hard to reach because she was so young. And when her father disappeared, they were suddenly uprooted from their home, moving far away from her home town. She always resented her mother a bit for that, where would her father find her if they weren't at home? She had asked her mother that question once, and saw that her mother had been about to cry.

She never asked again.

And Kevin… Kevin had left she and her mother, with some stupid note saying he had to do this, something about it being the best for the family.

What family?

Part of her had always wanted to find him. He had been her brother, protector, her best friend. He had scared away all of the monsters under her bed, and read her stories so she would fall asleep. He had been practically her parent when she was a child because their parents were always out working doing God knows what.

When he left, Jackie was devastated. Her mother was always in tears, but she could see that she was trying to be strong, trying to hold it together.

They waited for a year.

An entire year in one spot, hoping that Kevin would come back. But he never did.

So her mother packed their bags one night and said it was time to move on. Jackie has fought her mother, but her mother was determined. They could not stay. It was too dangerous. They would be here soon, they had already stayed there too long.

But her mother had left something for Kevin, something somewhere that only he would know, so that way if he did come back, he'd know they were safe.

Jackie wondered if Kevin ever bothered looking for them once they left. She hoped he had, even though he never would've found them.

Because she and her mother began moving around at a rapid pace, never staying in one place for more than half a year. It was tiring, dangerous and Jackie had known they were on the run from something, someone. Her mother never gave her an answer to her never ending questions.

Until the night she died.

Which, ironically, left her with more questions than answers.

Jackie laid her head against the cool window, staring out at the stars. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she thought of her mother's death, something she had been continuously pushing away. She placed it in the back of her mind.

Tonight was not the night for those memories.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I think this is one of my favorite chapters, I really love the beginning. I'm going to try and bring more of this in, because it's kind of my favorite. Also, if you've noticed, I've changed this from a Gwen/Kevin story to a Ben story. This doesn't mean there won't be more Kevin/Gwen stuff, because there WILL be, but this plot line focuses mainly on Jackie, who is involved with Ben. **

**And if you've read this story before, you'll notice that I completely changed this chapter, and the stuff that I've written has been deleted. No worries, some of that old information/mystery will make it's way back into the story, now that I've got it rolling. **

**Please READ and REVIEW. I really want your thoughts on this chapter! Thanks! **

**_RE-EDITED VERSION _  
**

* * *

He sat in his office, his big stuffy chair facing the window at the back of the room. The window was so large that it covered the entire wall. The rest of the room was rather empty, consisting of a large desk, a black rug with a white couch to the left, a wooden coffee table on the rug and a black bookshelf. A dull gray color covered the rest of the walls.

The man stared out the window, looking downward at all the people. He observed them, as he did every day, marveling at the obliviousness of them, the pure ignorance that they all possessed. He did this often, relishing the feeling of being above them, quite literally as his office was 20 floors up. He ran his fingers through his hair, smirking at the thought.

His hair, black as night, was cut short, but not short enough to be a buzz cut. He had quite handsome features, a young face, a strong jaw line along with a smooth mouth that made the women swoon. He was about 6 ft. 6, with a muscular build and smooth tan skin. Overall, he was an incredibly handsome man in a beautifully designed suit. A man who you knew had power by just a glance at him.

But if you looked closely, if you ever truly looked at him, you would see that despite his handsome features, his dark brown eyes would display something entirely different, something actually quite revolting.

For you see, his eyes revealed something freighting that would chill you to your very bones. His eyes would reveal his thirst, his thirst for blood, and his thirst for power.

_Ah, power._ The word brought a sweet sensation to his insides. He had worked hard for this. His plan that had been changed, revised so many times, was almost complete. His plan to take complete control over a mere teenage girl was almost done. He had finally found her. It had taken years, but he knew, he just _knew_, it would be a matter of time until she was in his grasp. Her father had tried to stop him, but he had failed. They all failed.

Jacklynn Marie Levin. A nasty smirk slowly formed upon his face as he thought of her. He had been waiting a long time for this. As soon as he had her, he would be able to control everyone, everything, every human and non-human beings that roamed not only on the earth, but the universe.

There were only two people on the planet who knew what Jacklynn Levin was capable of.

And one of them was locked away, thought to be dead, long forgotten by so many.

Once he had her, perhaps he would reunite the two. And then kill her old man in front of her, just like her mother. He smiled, his handsome face lighting up at his pleasant thought.

After so much time, so much planning, he was so close he could taste it. The bridge between man and alien, the link that connected the two, would soon be under his control.

The government, the plumbers, any force that would try to fight him, would be no match once he had her. She was powerful, so utterly, unknowingly powerful. And he ached deep in his soul for that power.

And it would soon all be his.

She would be all his.

She _belonged_ to him.

* * *

_Jackie was walking among clouds. But these clouds weren't like any clouds she had ever seen. They were a murky green shade, reminding her of a swamp. There was nothing around her, just the clouds moving slowly, circling her, almost as if they were… Taunting her._

_ As she walked among the murky clouds, a feeling of dread swept upon her. It was a sick feeling at the pit of her stomach, as if she knew something evil was surrounding her. _

_ "Jackie." A soft voice whispered close, close enough to be next to her ear._

_ Jackie spun around quickly, her heart pounding in her ears, a cold fear washing over her. There was nothing but clouds behind her. _

_ Jackie stilled, tense as she waited for another sound. _

_ It didn't come. _

_ Jackie straightened out, her eyes alert. _

_ "I'm coming for you Jackie. It's only a matter of time." The voice whispered again, a cruel, hard sound. Jackie froze. _

_ "Why?" She managed to choke out, a shudder running through her. _

_ "Why?" The voice repeated her, almost mocking. "Because you belong to me," the voice hardened. _

_ "Wha- What do you want from me?" Jackie's voice shook, not bothering to cover the fear. The voice laughed chillingly. _

_ "Silly, silly girl. Doesn't even know what she's capable of." The voice laughed an ugly laugh. Jackie frowned, becoming irritated. _

_ "Then why don't you just tell me?" She snapped angrily. _

_ "Well look here, little Jackie Levin actually has something to say. Feisty one, aren't you?" The voice sneered at her. "I won't tell you what you possess. You don't deserve it. Any of it." The voice grew angry. "Which is why you can't have it. And soon, soon enough, I will come for you." The voice continued gleefully. "You belong to me." The voice was beside her once again. Jackie shuddered. She felt a hot breath on her neck. _

_ She jerked back. "I belong to no one." She said coolly._

_ "We'll see about that." The voice laughed again, only louder this time. Jackie winced as the voice boomed with a dark laughter, filling up the space around her. The clouds became more condensed, coming closer, suffocating her. _

_ Jackie tried waving the clouds away, but it was no use. It was as if her air was being sucked out. It was getting harder and harder to breath. Jackie began to feel lightheaded. Was it possible for clouds to suffocate you? The air became even tighter, and Jackie tried to breath. _

_ She found that she couldn't. _

_ The voice was all over now, filling her ears, filling her body, filling her soul. _

_ Jackie collapsed, an unbearable pain filling her chest, clawing at her. _

_ She tried to cry out, but it was no use. She could make no sound. _

_ It was in that moment that she knew that she would die. _

Jackie sat up in her bed, taking deep frantic breaths. She sat there, trying to regain control of herself. She was sweating, despite the cold rainy weather. Jackie sat in her bed, bringing her knees to her chest and placed her head against her knees, looking down, trying to control her breathing.

She didn't know what was happening to her, and she absolutely hated with dealing with the unknown.

She didn't know who was after her. She didn't know what happened to her father. She didn't know why her mother was murdered so brutally. She didn't know what on earth she was capable of. She didn't know what made her so special to have so many people come after her to try and kill her.

She was sick of not knowing.

She was sick of feeling so unsafe.

She hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks. She was so tired of everything. The unknown, the constant nightmares.

The cold, almost in-human laugh echoed in her ears. Jackie shuddered at the memory.

All she wanted was answers. All she wanted was everything to end.

All she really wanted was her mother to give her a hug and tell her everything was going to be okay.

It was then she began to cry.

* * *

"You look like shit."

Jackie jumped, startled at the voice that appeared out of nowhere. She turned around, and saw Kevin leaning against the counter in the kitchen. She hadn't been able to go back to sleep last night, so she was tired and cranky. And walking into the kitchen and seeing the last person she wanted to talk to wasn't the way she wanted to start her already crappy day.

Jackie inwardly groaned and glared at the boy she had once called a brother.

"What are you even doing here? Weren't you staying at your girlfriend's house? And I didn't ask for your opinion, did I?" She snarled.

Kevin frowned and shrugged. He opened his mouth to retort, but decided against it. He didn't want his head bitten off before breakfast. He leaned back and studied her, something he hadn't been able to do since she got back.

He took in the dark circles around her eyes and her skinny figure. She was never fat, she had always been small, but it seemed she was losing more weight than she had to lose. Her hair was pulled loosely into a messy bun, with jeans, a pair of old black converse and a ratty old band t-shirt with a name he didn't recognize completing her look. She looked haggard, worn out, tired and troubled.

He was worried about her.

He didn't mean to run into her, he had planned to grab what he needed and bolt. He knew what his sister was like, and he knew she would not be happy to see him.

But she _was_ his sister.

"Hey um… Are you okay?" Kevin asked softly, wincing as he watched her reaction. He knew she hated that question.

Jackie froze as she was peeing into the fridge, ignoring him.

He knew she hated that question.

And she especially hated hearing it from him.

She slowly closed the door, and turned around. Kevin crossed his arms, muscles bulging as he glanced cautiously at her.

"I'm fine." She answered coolly.

"You don't look fine you look-"

"Like shit, I know." She snapped, crossing her arms, mimicking his position. "No need to repeat yourself." Kevin smiled wryly at her.

"Actually I was going to say you look like you haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks. We've already stated the obvious." He chuckled at the heated glare she sent his way.

"Considering you're never around, you wouldn't really know, now would you?" Jackie stated, cocking an eyebrow. She gave him another glare and turned away, walking towards the door.

Kevin winced as he heard the door slam. He sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He wanted to talk to Jackie about why she wasn't getting any sleep. He wanted to make everything go away for her. He wanted, needed to protect her. She was the last flesh and blood he had.

Despite what she believed, he truly did care about her. All he needed was a chance to prove himself, to talk to her.

Only she didn't want to talk.

He wondered if there ever would be a time where she did.

* * *

Ben walked into the kitchen, surprised to see Kevin standing in the center with a pensive look on his face.

"What's up Kev? I thought you were staying at Gwen's…?" He asked hesitantly. If he ran into Jackie there would be no telling how she would react.

Kevin grunted. "I did. I came here this morning to grab some of my stuff. Didn't know she would be up."

Ben grimaced. He could only imagine Jackie's attitude towards Kevin, and it would not be pretty.

"She talked to me though. Guess that's some sort of progress…" Kevin trailed off, sighing. "Look, I'll be out of here in a couple of minutes. Just gotta grab my shit."

"Yeah, sure. Where'd she go?" Ben asked as Kevin began walking away. Kevin shrugged.

"She just sort of took off. Guess she didn't wanna be around me." Kevin replied sarcastically.

Ben sighed as he walked towards the door. Good thing he already got dressed, he didn't want Jackie running around by herself, not with people after her. It's not like she knew where she was going anyway.

He walked into the shop, and stopped for a moment.

There was a girl with a messy bun, jeans and a familiar pair of converse talking to some guy at the register. Ben frowned as he made his way towards them.

"Jackie?" He called out.

She turned around, her smile dropping when she saw him. Ben ignored the disappointment that he felt when he saw her smile drop, walking over to her anyways.

"Did you eat breakfast? We could go get something…" He suggested, ignoring the guy at the counter who was watching him with amusement. "I know you didn't get any this morning. You left in a hurry."

Jackie's eyes flashed at Ben. She paused for a moment, then sighed.

"You're buying." She said flatly. She looked up at Tim, shrugged and turned to walk out the door. Ben stood there, surprised that she had agreed after yesterday. She turned back and raised her eyebrows.

"You coming?"

Ben shook himself, and jogged after her.

"Yeah. Sorry." He inwardly kicked himself, feeling once again like an idiot.

She rolled her eyes and started walking towards the garage, Ben's eyes glued to her back side as he deliberately walked behind her to keep the view.

"I'm only going with you because I don't want to be around my shit head of a brother." Jackie called out. "So don't think it's personal."

Jackie turned around, with a small smile on her face so Ben would know she was kidding. Ben just smirked and winked at her.

"Keep tellin' yourself that, and maybe you'll start to believe it."

Jackie rolled her eyes and slid into the passenger seat.

"Take me away Tenyyson." She drawled. "I'm starving and a girls gotta eat."

Ben started the car, and smiled to himself.

He would take her wherever the hell she wanted, as long as it kept her from biting his head off.

Actually, he'd probably take here wherever the hell she wanted just because she asked.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I feel like this one was more of a filler chapter, which is why it's much shorter. But no worries, soon we'll have some answers that Ben has been looking for!**

**_RE-EDITED VERSION_  
**

* * *

Ben pulled into a parking lot in front of a sign that read _'Meg's Diner.'_

As he got out, he could smell bacon, eggs and hash browns as they got closer. He heard something grumble loudly, and turned to Jackie. She shrugged sheepishly.

"Sorry."

Ben barked a laugh. "No worries. Meg's awesome; she'll stuff you until you can't even move." He shot her a grin as they walked in.

It was a small and noisy place. The smell of breakfast washed over the pair as they stood there, relishing the smell. There was busy, but homely feel to the diner.

"Benjamin Tennyson! Why didn't you tell me you were back in town?" A loud voice called out.

A slightly plump white haired woman came towards them, wearing a pink shirt and a white apron. Her rosy cheeks and big smile disarmed Jackie, and despite herself, she could feel herself smiling back.

"And who is this young beauty on your arm?" Meg winked at her, as Ben blushed. "He doesn't bring too many girls down here, you must be special." Jackie bit back a laugh at the ten different shades of red Ben was turning.

"We're just friends Meg." Ben grumbled. "And we're here for the best breakfast in town."

"Oh quit teasin! But there's a booth by the window over there. I'll get your usual. Oh and Ben, tell that Grandpa of yours that if he doesn't call soon, he ain't gettin' any sugar the next time he comes rollin' into town!" With that Meg turned and walked away, leaving an embarrassed Ben in her wake.

Jackie looked at Ben who just groaned and shook his head.

As they sat down, Jackie raised her eyebrows in question.

"Grandpa and Meg have got a very… _Friendly_ relationship." He grimaced as Jackie laughed.

"At least the old guy is still getting' some." Jackie smirked at the stricken look on Ben's face.

"Whoa! Jackie! Come on! We're about to eat! Let's not discuss my Grandpa's personal life, alright?" Ben held his hands up to cut off whatever else Jackie was going to say.

At moment later, Meg same out with two steaming plates of french toast, eggs, bacon and hash browns, placing them in front of Ben and Jackie. She put down two cups and filled them with orange juice.

Jackie heard her stomach rumble loudly once more as the smell of French toast filled her nose.

"Oh you don't worry darlin', my food is gonna fill that small belly of yours. What have you been feeding this girl Benjamin, she looks like she hasn't eaten in a week! Now darlin', you ever need to fill that belly of yours, you just come right on over and I'll fill ya right up!" Meg placed the pitcher of orange juice on the table and winked at her.

"Meg! Can you get over here?" Someone called out from behind the counters.

"Oh for Pete's sake, they can't manage without me for less than a minute." Meg grumbled. "You two eat on up, and Ben don't you bother getting that money of yours out. You know I won't take it." She gave him a warm smile and turned and walked away.

Jackie sat there, feeling a bit over whelmed with Meg and her motherly nature.

"Wow, she's nice."

Ben smiled. "Yeah, she's great. We helped her out with a… Extraterrestrial problem a while back and now she refuses the money Gwen, Kevin, Grandpa and I try to give her. But I try and leave really large tips in places she can't really see at first. Most of the time she gives the money back, but it's still fun to do."

"Aren't you a sweetie pie?" Jackie grinned at the grimace that crossed Ben's face. She laughed and dug into her food, sighing in contentment as the flavor hit her mouth. It was her first real home cooked meal, save Ben's breakfast from the morning before, in years. While living with her mom, they didn't indulge themselves in home cooked food. It was mostly frozen dinners and take out. But this was something she could get used to.

"Ben! Hey! I haven't seen you in a couple of days! Why haven't you called?" A voice cut through Jackie's thoughts. She looked up, only to meet the dark eyes of another girl who was about her age.

She recognized her from the other night, from the first time she has seen Kevin. That girl had been with her father, but they had left quickly, not wanting to be around the family drama. Hell, Jackie hadn't wanted to be around the family drama.

The girl had short, shiny smooth black hair, a maroon jacket, plump lips and jeans that were snug around her waist. Jackie consciously looked down at her old ratty t-shirt, converse and was suddenly aware that her hair was pulled up in a messy bun. She sighed, looking down and her food, not as hungry as the moment before.

"Hey Elena." Ben glanced up warily, wondering why she was suddenly talking to him now, of all times.

"Ben!" She shot him a warm smile. Ben shifted, feeling awkward and slightly suspicious. "You haven't called." She pouted a bit, glancing at Jackie. Ben looked up at her, confused while Elena studied the girl in front of him. Elena nudged Ben, pushing him to the left to make room for her to sit down. Ben, too startled to say anything, moved over.

"You're Kevin's sister, right?" Elena turned to Jackie, her voice sounding polite, but stiff. Jackie narrowed her eyes a bit, and Ben inwardly groaned.

You don't get on Jackie's good side by mentioning her brother the first time you talk to her.

"No." Jackie replied flatly, taking another mouthful of food so she wouldn't have to answer any more stupid questions.

"What Jackie means is," Ben interrupted hastily at the look on Elena's face, "She and Kevin don't really… Get along." Ben flinched at the look Jackie shot him.

"If you want to put it nicely." She shot back.

Elena held up her hands, shaking her head. "I get it, none of my business." Elena stared at Jackie for a moment. "You look really tired. You getting any sleep?"

Ben frowned. He had noticed Jackie looked especially tired this morning, there were bags under her eyes and she looked ready to fall over at any given moment, but he had chosen not to say anything, knowing if she wanted him to know, she would have said something. That and in fear of getting his head ripped off.

"You're right." Jackie narrowed her eyes. "It's none of your business." Jackie pushed her plate in front of her, Ben noticing for the first time that she had finished eating. She got up angrily and started walking towards the door.

"Jackie! Wait a second!" Ben called out, attempting to move. But Elena didn't budge. She turned to him, frowning. Ben looked at Jackie helplessly, watching her walk outside to God knows where.

"Elena get out, I gotta go after her." He said impatiently, irritated that she wouldn't move. Elena turned to him.

"Do you like her?"

Ben froze. He looked at her. "What?"

"Do you like her?" Elena repeated the question again, a bit more fiercely.

"I need to go find her."

"She's not a baby Ben. She can handle herself for a couple of minutes. Answer the question." Elena snapped.

"I only met her a couple of days ago." Ben looked out the window, not wanting to meet his ex-girlfriends angry stare and trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of Jackie. He had the keys, but there was no telling if she would have gone off on her own.

"So the answer is a yes." Elena muttered bitterly.

"Look Elena, we shouldn't even be having this conversation. You broke it off, remember?" Ben turned to her, aggravated.

Elena bit her lip. "Maybe I made a mistake." She said softly.

Ben's stomach dropped. This was the last thing he needed. He didn't want anything with Elena, not after what happened.

"I don't think you did." He replied gently. Elena looked up at him, her eyes flashing.

"Ben…"

"I need to find her." Ben cut her off, and looked her in the eye. His mouth was set, determined to go after her. Elena scoffed angrily, but stood up to let him through.

Ben took off in a flash, leaving her behind, not once looking back.

* * *

Jackie didn't know why she was so… so… Irritated? Frustrated? Annoyed? She kicked a rock, watching it roll away. She groaned at herself, she didn't even know what she was feeling.

All she knew is that Elena chick rubbed her the wrong way.

And that's all there was too it.

She ignored the voice in her head that told her otherwise.

"Jackie! Where the hell are you?" She heard someone calling her name and paused, before stepping around the back of the diner. She didn't need Ben to send a search party, or worse, Kevin, to come and find her.

"What Tennyson?" She called out irritably, walking around the corner. Ben's shoulders sagged with relief as he jogged over to her.

"I thought that maybe you took off or something." He slowed, stopping before her.

"I didn't have the keys." She answered tersely.

"Look, I'm sorry about Elena." He said quickly, not wanting her to be angry with him. With Jackie, you could never tell who was going to get the short end of the stick.

"Whatever. Let's just get out of here." Jackie began walking to the car, but Ben grabbed her wrist gently.

"What's wrong?" He asked her softly. Jackie frowned, her thoughts swirling in her head like a storm.

_What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong. I've been on the run for three fucking weeks and all I want to do is forget any of this happened. I want my mom, I want my dad back, I want the old Kevin back, the one who didn't ditch me. I want to go home, only I don't even know what home is. I want to push you away or hold you close and I haven't made up my mind on which I want to do more. Not to mention I've been having these freaky dreams and I'm scared and lost and fuck, what isn't wrong?!_

"Nothing." She told him simply, looking away. Ben growled softly, her head jerking up to him. His hands were in his hair, pulling at the ends a bit.

"You're lying." He accused her, his eyes narrowing.

"Whatever Ben." Jackie rolled her eyes and headed to the car.

Ben's hands dropped to his side, not knowing what to do. He just wished she would _talk_ to him.

Why was it that he was always left standing, watching her walk away from him?


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Okay someone mentioned to me that Kevin's dad's name wasn't Arthur, and I just want to point out that yes, I am aware of that. I came up with Kevin and Jackie's parent's name literally on the spot, as I was writing. Quick reminder, this is AU. Kevin has a sister, and his family situation is incredibly different than what was originally written. And as the dad in the original plot line is very different than the one in mine, I suppose a different name is very fitting. **

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

_She was back in the clouds, walking forwards, or so she thought. She could have been walking backwards for all she knew. She hugged herself, trying to keep warm. She felt a hot breath no her neck, and jerked away. She tried running, but suddenly the air became tight. She stumbled, but kept going. _

_She heard a laugh and shivered. That same maniac, in-human laugh she had heard the last time sent a chill up her spine. _

"_Leave me alone!" She cried out, fear shaking her voice. _

_The laugh grew louder, closer._

"_Go away!" She yelled, running faster, trying to escape the evil that lurked around her. She felt something, a hand, grab her ankle. _

"_Let me go!" She tried kicking whoever the hand belonged too, but it seemed to come out of the clouds. The laughter grew louder still, filling her mind. _

"_Let me go!" She screamed as the hand grew tight around her ankle. Jackie choked back a sob. _

"_I will never let go." A voice hissed. _

"_You belong to me." The voice laughed gleefully as Jackie struggled harder, pulling her into the dark clouds, pulling her under. There was a never ending dark that began forming around her. _

"_You are mine Jackie Levin. Mine and mine alone." _

_The laughed filled every pore in her body as it pulled her into the dark abyss. _

"Jackie! Jackie! Jackie!"

Someone was grabbing her, pulling her, laughing at her. She had to fight back!

Jackie shot up, scrambling away from whoever was trying to hurt her. She took deep breaths, trying to steady herself.

"Stay away from me!" She sobbed, putting her hands up to block the attacker. But the pulling and grabbing never came. Jackie slowly opened her eyes and slowly put her hands down. When she did, she dazedly looked around at her surroundings.

She was in her room, the room Max had given her. Ben sat at the foot of her bed, his eyes wide with worry. She soaked it all in, trying to comprehend the fact that no one was actually trying to attack her.

"Jackie?" Ben called out to her softly. She stifled a sob, trying to hold back tears as she began to shake.

"Hey hey hey." Ben slowly slid closer to her on the bed, not wanting to startle her. He knew that even though she had woken up, her mind was still in that freighting dream that had made her scream so loudly, so terrified.

Ben now sat right next to her, noticing her shaking hands and gently grabbed them.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He said softly. Jackie looked up at him and for the first time, he saw fear. That raw, terrifying sort of fear. Ben's heart ached for her, wanting to hurt whatever made her feel like this.

Ben couldn't take it any longer and pulled her into his arms and onto his lap, feeling her whimper against his chest. He pulled her in tight and shushed her, rocking her slowly. She began sobbing, tears leaking onto his shirt. Ben sat there, rubbing circles onto her back, soothing her.

They stayed like that for a while.

When she had finally calmed down to where she wasn't crying anymore, Ben shifted. Jackie tightened her hold on him, stopping him from moving.

"Don't go."

The words were so soft; Ben had to strain to hear them. He kissed the top of her head, pulling her tighter against him.

"I'm not leaving you." He whispered against her hair. "Let me lay down, okay? So we can be comfortable."

He felt Jackie nod against him, and he laid down slowly, bringing her with him. He turned to her, so that they were both lying on their sides, facing each other. The moonlight shined on Jackie, her hair seeming blue. Ben swallowed a knot in his throat, tucking a loose strand behind her ear.

He locked eyes with her, her big brown eyes usually so filled with pain and anger were now filled with un shed tears. They were clear as day, vulnerable and scared. Ben pressed his lips against her forehead and held them there for a moment, feeling her lashes flutter. He pulled away and brought her closer to him, feeling her arms snake around his waist and burying her head in his shoulder.

Ben felt his eyes drooping as he thought about Jackie and her dream, her fear.

The last thought in his mind was that he would do anything for this girl, if it meant keeping her safe and her fears at bay.

* * *

Jackie felt warm.

And cozy.

A pleasant sensation washed through her as she smiled, pulling the warmth towards her.

Actually, that warmth felt a lot like a body...

Jackie froze.

She's only waken up in this position a hand full of times, all it took was a bit a stealth to cautiously get away…

Only… No… That wasn't right. There was no way she'd be in some random guy's bed. For one, she didn't have time; she was currently running for her life. Only… That wasn't right either. She was staying somewhere… She was staying with Tennyson.

Her eyes flew open.

And there he was in all of his morning glory.

_Tennyson. _

Jackie was suddenly aware of everything, her mind now fully awake and on overload. Where her hands were, where his were, the position of their legs…

One of his arms was thrown over her waist, holding her close and possessively, not allowing her to move. He was breathing slow and steady breaths, letting her know that he hadn't woken up yet. Jackie's eyes darted around, wondering how to get out of this predicament.

Though… It was quite nice… Being in his arms, feeling safe… Especially after last night…

_Last night. _

A wave of embarrassment washed over her as the scenes from last night replayed in her mind, taunting her. She didn't like it when people saw her upset. Weak. Broken.

She felt Ben shift in her arms, and quickly shut her eye, steadying her breathing. She felt Ben wake up, felt his body become aware of where he was.

She heard him take a deep breath, groaning as he began to loosen his muscles. She felt him stiffen, then relax, pulling her closer to him. She felt his warm lips against her forehead, pressed there for a moment, like last night.

It took everything in her power to keep her breath steady and her heart from pounding so loudly. Ben slowly and gently untangled himself from her, and she felt the bed dip, and then let up again as he made his way out.

She felt his eyes sweep over her as he slowly closed the door, and his footsteps faded away.

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. She didn't understand how her heart could pound so hard, and feel so much from one touch.

And she didn't understand why she suddenly felt so cold.

* * *

Ben sighed, pouring coffee into two cups, adding milk and sugar in one and keeping the other one black. He slowly walked back to Jackie's room, pushing it open with his foot slowly, letting her know he was coming in.

She was awake, sitting up in her bead. Her head shot up, her brown eyes staring at him. He grinned sheepishly.

"I come bearing gifts." He joked, holding up a cup of coffee. She gave him a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. She reached for the coffee, their fingers touching for a moment.

Ben felt it down to his toes.

He sat down at the edge of the bed, watching her drink the coffee. She held the cup in her hands, staring at it.

"Thank you." She said softly.

"You don't have to thank me." Ben raised the coffee to his lips, for the simple act of having something to do. Jackie raised her head to look at him.

"It's just… I don't let anyone see me like that. Ever." She frowned, shaking her head. Ben felt a flash of pride, secretly glad he had been the one she asked to stay with her.

"Do you want to… Talk about it?" He asked cautiously, not wanting to upset her. She paused and sighed deeply. Ben waited for a moment, sure she wouldn't say anything.

"It's always in the clouds." She began softly, her voice turning wary. "Dark, ugly, green clouds. And I'm always running, running from something. And there's always this voice." Her breath caught, her eyes shutting tightly, as if trying to shut away the memory. "And it always tells me that it owns me. That I belong to… Him." She shuddered, her hands beginning to shake. "I don't know why, but he wants me. He always says that… I… Belong to him." She grimaced, disgusted at the thought.

Ben sat there, anger pumping through his veins for the person responsible for making her feel this way, making her feel scared. Jackie didn't belong to some stranger, if anything she belonged to—

_Dream. _

_It's just a dream. _

"It felt so real." Jackie opened her eyes. Ben shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

"Do you know what any of it means?" He asked. Jackie shook her head, her shoulders slumping. Her head suddenly shot up.

"What?"

"My mom… Before she died… I don't know if this has anything to do with anything because it was just a dream… But one thing she told me was… Don't let him take you." Jackie took a deep breath, wincing at the memory, pushing it from her mind.

"Did she say anything else?" Ben scooted closer to her, hopeful that they were finally on to something.

"It was just a dream…" Jackie trailed off.

"In my line of work, there are no such things as coincidences." Ben tried smiling at her, but failed. If her mother had known about something that was connecting to Jackie in her dreams, this was huge.

"Look… If we were to look into this…" Jackie looked up at him, faltering. "I have to go back."

"Back where?" He answered slowly.

"Back where she died. Home." Jackie looked down, biting her lip.

"Are… Are you ready for that?" He asked gently, taking their coffee, moving the cups onto the night stand. He placed his hand on hers and squeezed them.

"It's been three weeks, and all I've been doing is running. There's nothing more that I want to do. But I need answers." She looked up at him desperately.

"I'll be there with you every step of the way." Ben reassured her. "I won't leave your side."

"We're about a day's drive from there. When… Everything happened… I took off, to the north. But I decided to head back, I thought that no one would expect me to go back. And I was right. They hadn't found me, not before you did anyway."

Ben snorted. "Ah yes, the night my world turned upside down." He teased, drawing out a small smile from her.

"Alright Jackie. Let's get your answers."


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hey guys! I know it's been FOREVER but I'm back and it's Spring Break! Not sure how I felt about this chapter, it's sort of a filler chapter. **

**Also, how do you guys feel about sexual scenes? Does it make you uncomfortable? Do you mind it? Not mind it? Not sure if I'll put a lemon in here, but I'd really like y'alls feedback! **

* * *

"No."

"Kevin, she needs this." Ben growled, frustrated.

"If she goes back, whoever's tailing her is going to find out and… I don't know, trap you guys or something… Or… Just no Tennyson. It's dangerous." Kevin hissed back.

"I'll be there to protect her, if she even needs it. She's not 9 years old anymore Kevin." Ben sighed, wishing for the millionth time that Max hadn't picked Kevin to be in charge when he left.

Kevin paused, rubbing his forehead. He sighed deeply and paused, suddenly speaking into the phone harshly, "Tennyson she better not come back with the tiniest scratch on her body or I will end you. And I'm only letting her go because it's smart and we need answers and we haven't been getting any."

"Okay, great!" Ben perked up, glancing up at the window, watching Jackie put the last of their bags in the back of the car.

They had done all the planning the day before and finished packing that morning. Ben hadn't mentioned to her that they needed Kevin's permission. It wouldn't have boded well for either of them.

"So what, you guys finish the planning today and leave tomorrow morning?" Kevin grumbled into the phone.

"Actually in a few minutes, Jackie's putting her bags in the car and then we're off." Ben replied cheerfully, walking out of the shop and towards the car.

"_Tennyson I'm gonna…"_

"Look, I'll send you frequent updates letting you know we're still alive. We'll be gone for like, two, three days tops." Ben continued, ignoring Kevin as he slammed the door shut in the car.

"Take care Kev. Love you!"

"_**Tennyson don't you dare…**_"

Ben shut off his phone and smirked, starting the car.

He turned to his right as he watched Jackie sit down, and swallowed a knot in his throat. She was wearing light jean shorts that showed off her legs that seemed to go on for miles, despite her height. And she was wearing a small band t-shirt that seemed to hug her in all the rights areas; and her hair was loose, making his fingers itch with the urge to reach over and run his fingers through it, as creepy as it might sound.

"Ready Tennyson?" Jackie turned to him, buckling her seatbelt. She gave him a small smile as she sat back and pulled a pair of sunglasses from her head he hadn't noticed, and slid them down.

Ben smiled back, shaking his head from his thoughts. He needed to get a grip.

It was going to be a long ride.

* * *

Ben snuck a glance at Jackie. Her chest rose and fell evenly, letting him know she was fast asleep. They had been on the road for a couple of hours, Jackie falling asleep soon after they started driving. He couldn't say he was disappointed because he had a feeling of how little sleep she'd been getting these past couple of weeks.

Ben wasn't sure this was the best idea, going back to a place that obviously held something so dark, so painful to Jackie; it was something they didn't talk about. He didn't want to see her cry ever again like he did that night.

That's something else they didn't talk about.

Jackie hadn't mentioned that night, or the dreams, since that morning they had talked about it. Ben didn't know what to do, he knew if he pushed her, she'd push him right back. And he'd end up being locked out, something he didn't know if he could stand.

He couldn't stop thinking about how it felt to wake up next to her, feeling her body curled into his, kissing her forehead when he wanted to kiss so much more. He didn't understand why he'd grown so attached so quickly to someone who should be a stranger, but he had.

Kevin would probably kill him and chop his body into a million different pieces and send them all over the world so no one could find them if he ever found out.

But he didn't really care.

Jackie suddenly lurched up, gasping loudly in her seat, startling Ben. He jerked his head towards her, his eyes scanning her body to make sure she was alright.

"Jackie!" Ben reached out to her, touching her shoulder.

"Ben look out!" Jackie yelled, jerking away from him and pointing to the road.

"Shit!" Ben swerved to the right as a truck honked at them for being in his lane. The guy in the other truck gave them a hand gesture as he sped by. Ben rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath as he pulled over. He turned to Jackie, who had took of the sunglasses and was now pinching the bridge of her nose muttering under her breath.

"Are you _trying _to get us killed Tennyson?" She growled as she let her hand drop to grab her sunglasses, avoiding his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked worriedly, ignoring her comment. He kept his hands to himself, though they wanted to reach over and make sure she was alright.

"Shut up and drive Tennyson." Jackie said tiredly as she sat back and slid the dark sunglasses back on.

"Jackie–"

"I said drive." She snapped, refusing to look in his direction. Ben just sighed and started up the car again, pulling on to the road.

"Look, Jackie…"

"Did I not just say shut up?"

This was definitely going to be a long drive.

* * *

"Are you going to ignore me the whole way there? We've still got forever to go and I'm bored." Ben whined, sneaking a glance at the girl beside him.

"Tennyson, leave me alone." Jackie said flatly, turning the page of a book she had pulled out and begun reading.

Ben sighed. Jackie hadn't spoken to him since he had almost crashed into the truck, though he did it because he was worried about her, though that hadn't seemed to matter. In fact, Jackie pretended it hadn't happened at all.

"Come on Jacks. I know you're mad at me for almost killing us and all, but I said sorry already. How else am I supposed to make it up to you?" Ben grinned when he saw Jackie's mouth twitch.

"You wanna make it up to me, do you?" Jackie looked up at him placing her book aside and shooting him a teasing smirk.

Ben's mouth went dry. _"Smirks like that should be illegal when someone of the male gender is driving."_

"Well…. Uh… What do you have in mind?" Ben managed to say. Jackie raised her brows at him, leaning back and tapped her chin, pretending to be deep in thought. She looked over at him and winked.

"I'll think of something Tennyson. Don't you worry." She smirked at him as he fidgeted in his seat.

"Oh I'm worried all right. You scare me." Ben shot her a grin as she laughed for the first time that day. Ben chuckled, loving the sound of her being happy for once.

"You should do that more often." He said lightly.

"Do what?" Jackie asked, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"Laugh. Smile. It's not a crime to let the world see you happy you know." He teased, avoiding her gaze. He wasn't sure if he'd offended her or not, and he didn't really want to find out.

Jackie didn't say anything for a minute. "It's easier with you." She finally replied softly.

Ben turned to look at her. She was already looking at him, shooting him the smallest smile, but Ben felt it straight to his heart.

"We should probably find somewhere to stay for the night. It's going to be dark soon and I know this place not far from here." Jackie said suddenly, breaking eye contact and looking away. "Actually, I think it's about ten minutes from here. Great place. Cheap motel, crappy assistance, vending machine buffet, stains on the wall that look like blood… Five star place I'm telling you."

Ben smiled at her and turned back to the road.

"Sounds like heaven."

* * *

"Here ya go. Just ring us up if you need anything. Have a nice night. *_SLAM_*"

"Did I mention great service?" Jackie grimaced as they heard the old lady walking away, muttering under her breath. Ben chuckled.

"You had me sold at cheap Jacks. I think I can handle some cranky old lady for one night." Ben winked at her and set their bags on the ground next to one of the beds. "Besides, this place isn't so bad. Look, the wallpaper is full of flowers."

"It's yellow ugly flowers against some gray foggy color."

"It's got a nice carpet."

"It's red so they can hide the blood stains."

"It's got air conditioning."

"It's like an igloo in here."

"And we've got our own complimentary shower and toilet."

Jackie folded her arms, suppressing a grin. Ben walked over to her and poked her lightly, smiling.

"It's not that bad I guess." She looked around and went to sit on a bed and bounced up and down. "Nice springs. Comfy blanket. Fluffy pillows." She sighed and leaned back to lie down, closing her eyes.

"Almost makes you forget about the ugly wallpaper." Ben chuckled.

Jackie opened her eyes and squinted at him. "Almost."

"I'm gonna go pee and change, okay? You sure you can survive in this ugly room without me for a minute or two?" Ben teased, grabbing his bag of stuff and heading towards the bathroom. Jackie waved him away, sighing heavily.

"Whatever Tennyson. Leave my eyes to fend for themselves, why don't you?"

Ben shook his head and smiled, walking to the bathroom and closing the door. He changed into and old t shirt and pajama pants, checking himself in the mirror.

He couldn't help it, but he was nervous. Why was he nervous? It wasn't like he and Elena were abstinent or anything, but this was different. Jackie was different. Sure, they slept together in the same bed the other night, but that was instinct. This was…planned. Sort of. Ben rolled his eyes at himself and pulled out his toothbrush. He sighed and spit into the sink, rinsing his mouth.

He needed to stop being such a girl.

When he walked out of the bathroom, he froze.

Jackie was wearing another large t shirt and was facing away from him. The shirt barely covered her underwear. Ben's eyes slid down, then back up, his blood rushing south as he stared at her. Jackie's thick hair was pulled into a messy bun, the shirt falling slightly on one side.

Jackie turned around and rolled her eyes. "God, finally. I really need to brush my teeth dude. Way to take forever." She walked past him, toothbrush and toothpaste in hand and she shut the door with a click.

Ben still stood there, and dropped his bag near his bed and sat down. He buried his head between his head and groaned.

How the hell was he supposed to sleep tonight?

* * *

Ben lay there, staring at the dark ceiling and sighed. He couldn't fall asleep. Jackie had fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, which was good, since she never seemed to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Unfortunately for him, he couldn't seem to manage to get his brain to stop thinking. Thinking about how she felt in his arms, her laugh, her smile, her legs, her eyes, her past…

"Go away." A small voice muttered. Ben frowned and sat up, glancing at Jackie's form. He saw her shift, turning to face him. Her eyes were shut tightly and her mouth was set into a frown.

"Leave me alone." She said a little louder, frightened. Ben closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

It was always that stupid nightmare.

Ben didn't realize you could hate something so passionately without being able to see it yourself.

"Please… Just leave me alone." Jackie's voice wavered as she began to shake. Ben stood up and walked over to her, kneeling next to her head.

He wiped a tear away that was running down her face and sighed sadly. "Jacks… Jacks wake up. You're dreaming again." He whispered softly, shaking her slightly.

Jackie pushed his hand away, cringing at his touch. Ben swallowed thickly but shook her again.

"Jacks, come on. Wake up. Wake up, it's not real." Ben said a bit louder.

"Ben? Ben, where are you?" Jackie whimpered, frightened.

Ben's heart squeezed at his name. "I'm right here babe. You're dreaming. Can you wake up for me?" He whispered, stroking her cheek. Jackie nodded. "Okay at the count of three, you're gonna wake up for me, alright?"

"He's angry Ben. He said that I can't leave him." Jackie trembled, her eyes squeezing tighter together.

"Tell him to fuck himself and that you're coming back to me, okay?" Ben soothed, taking her hand in his.

"He didn't like that very much. Ben I think he wants to hurt me!" Jackie's voice grew frantic as she began to squeeze his hand tightly. Ben grimaced at the pain but kept his voice steady.

"On three, okay babe? On three get out of there." Ben whispered urgently as Jackie nodded. "One… Two… Three!"

Jackie's eyes flew open as she sat up and gasped for air. Ben sighed in relief, standing up to sit down next to her.

"You okay?" Ben asked softly, waiting for her to catch her breath. Jackie turned to him and frowned

"You called me babe." She stated flatly, looking up at him. Ben sat there for a moment, studying her watery eyes and flushed look, the bags under eyes making her seem tired and sad.

She has never been more beautiful to him.

"Do you not like that?" Ben asked, watching her closely.

"No." She sighed and leaned back and closed her eyes. She scooted to the left, Ben taking her cue and sliding onto the bed next to her.

"It's like he's in my head." Her voice grew small and quiet. She took a deep, shaky breath. "And I can't get him to leave." She bit her lip, and turned so she was facing him. She opened her eyes and tried not to cry. "I'm so scared." She whispered, holding back tears.

Ben cupped her cheek and pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm right here babe." He whispered softly.

"Promise you won't leave me." Jackie laid her hand on top of his and held it for a moment, then moving it slowly and placing it on her waist. Ben's breath grew harsh as his fingers tightened and pulled her as close to him as she could possibly get.

"I promise."


	11. Chapter 11

"Perhaps it's just a malfunction sir, nothing to worry about?"

"Nothing to worry about? That boy, that insolent little creature was able to pull her out of the dream and back into reality! I think that is something worth worrying about!" He snapped.

The man's shoulders were tense, his fists clenched. His assistant, a small man of only 5'2, stood in the center of the room, his insides trembling. Though he wouldn't dare show it since his boss might become even angrier if he expressed weakness.

"It's almost as if I can't reach her when he's around. He makes her feel safe. I need her vulnerable and afraid, open. It's the only way I can get into her mind." He stood there, crossing his arms and staring out his window.

"So… sir… What should you have me do?"

The man paused, an angry, uneasy silence filling the room.

"Find me everything you can on Benjamin Tennyson."

* * *

Jackie sat in the car, looking out her window as Ben drove on. For every familiar street or tree, there was a sharp pang of fear as they drew closer and closer to her previous home. Jackie pressed her head against the cool window, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

She felt like she was going to be sick.

There was so much that she just didn't want to deal with. She blocked out Kevin and her father because they had left, whether on purpose or because of another reason, she didn't know. But she believed deep in her soul that they were _both_ still here and alive and breathing, unlike her mother.

Her mom was different.

They hadn't had the perfect relationship, with the constant secrets and running and god knows what else her mother had kept from her. Jackie trusted her mom with her life, but that didn't mean that she didn't hold any resentment to her mother making it so that she had to depend on her in the first place.

It was always running, never any explanations.

Jackie was never an easy child, and all of her friends as a kid were also, and mostly Kevin's friends. Wherever he went, she was two feet behind. Kevin never minded, in fact, it seemed as if he preferred it. Even at a young age, Jackie had the talent of attracting boys with that little smile of hers, and Kevin had a much easier time of keeping an eye on her if she was always near him.

So Jackie never really had to make friends, they were just always there, thanks to her brother. And after Kevin left, and the constant moving, Jackie didn't have anyone besides her mother. She didn't really know how to make friends, and knowing they'd be leaving in a few months' time, she never even bothered to learn how.

She kind of hated her mother for that.

It was a lonely life, the kind of life they had lived. There were so many nights when Jackie would come home, and her mother would be locked in her room, typing away on her computer, working on something she refused to talk about. Sometimes they would go weeks without speaking an actual sentence to each other, Jackie at school while her mother worked at some terrible paying part time job, coming home only to be locked away in her room for the rest of the night.

Jackie knew her mother loved her. Sometimes she would lay awake late at night, and she would hear her door creak open and feel her mother's stare. It was those nights that were hardest to fall asleep.

Jackie's heart went cold when she caught sight of her neighborhood. _Ashburn_ was printed in faded golden letters on an old wooden sign that was displayed on the front of a narrow road. As Ben turned into the road, Jackie's heart began to speed up. She clenched her fists, turning them white. She could feel Ben constantly glancing at her, but she kept her eyes ahead, frozen. Ben began making turns that felt familiar, and suddenly, she found herself on _First St._ and she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Houses passed by and Jackie could feel herself growing tense and rigid. Finally, when it seemed as if time had passed far too quickly, but not quickly enough, Ben pulled into the driveway into an old two story abandoned house.

It was just like she remembered; only more broken.

The house seemed far too big for only two people, with five bedrooms, a large kitchen, living room, three bathrooms and an old dusty attic that would have fit in great in a scary movie. The house itself was old, dating back into the 50's. It has a balcony in the front, with a porch wrapping around the bottom of the house. It was old, dusty, broken glass everywhere, windows broken, the door unhinged and even the trees out front looked menacing. Jackie had remembered being flabbergasted when she saw the house for the first time, wondering why on earth her mother had picked something so large for the two of them. But the people in town weren't all fond of the house, as the neighborhood itself didn't have a very good reputation, and they had got the house in a very cheap price.

Jackie sat there, staring at the house that had haunted her memories for the past month. The car shut down, and Jackie could feel Ben's stare.

"Jackie, we don't have to–"

"Let's get this over with."

Jackie hopped out of the car, walking briskly to the porch. The gravel crunched under her feet, each step having to be forced. She could hear Ben jump out of the car, slamming the door as he hurried to catch up with her.

Jackie walked up the porch steps quickly, and ducked under the unhinged door. She stopped when she got to the old rug her mother had insisted on buying, studying her surroundings.

The house could've been beautiful, if it had actually been truly lived in and given a little love. But that wasn't even close to an option anymore. There was soot everywhere. Tables were over turned; drawers ripped open, chairs smashed, dishes broken. Jackie felt a flash of hot anger at the familiar site.

"It just… It pisses me off that they think they can turn my life upside down and expect me to go without a fight." Jackie said lowly. Ben walked up to her side, slowly. He out his hand on the small of her back, delicately.

"We can go." He said softly.

"You know we can't."

Jackie headed for the stairs, not flinching at the creaking her steps caused. She heard Ben following, wondering why on earth he'd stuck with her throughout this mess.

They came to a room at the top of the stairs that led to a hallway on the other side. It was dark, light only coming in through the lost shingles on the rooftop. Jackie walked ahead, slowing down as her eyes surveyed the damaged room. Much like downstairs, everything was either turned over or broken.

They finally came to a door that was almost closed, a sliver of light shining through. Ben kept watched Jackie hesitate, but push the door open with almost a force of anger.

Jackie stood there, at the opening of the room without saying a word. Ben's eyes were immediately drawn to the floor, where a large faded blood stain was apparent. It seemed as if someone had attempted to clean it, but hadn't succeeded, or cared to do it very well. There was a desk where a computer had once been, all the electronics smashed or clearly taken. There were signs of struggle everywhere.

"This was her work room." Jackie said quietly. "They took everything, but my mom had files hidden in here, somewhere. I tried looking before I took off, but… I didn't have enough time to search properly. We need to find them today."

She walked gingerly around the blood stain, and started moving through the wreckage in the room. Ben frowned, but did the same.

He knew there was a story to her mother and the blood, but he didn't want to push. But at the same time he felt that he should because it was obviously something that hurt her every moment of every day.

"You have got to be kidding me." He heard her mutter angrily with a twinge of annoyance behind him.

Ben spun around and raised an eyebrow. "What? You found them already?" He asked incredulously.

Jackie had opened a door in the wall, kneeling as half of her body was inside and the other out. He could hear her shuffling and grunting, pulling with her a large, dusty, worn box. She blew away some of the dust, opening the top.

Inside were file after file, all labeled with a word that wasn't in the English language, or any language; from Earth.

Ben gave a low whistle. "How'd you know that was in there?"

Jackie sighed. "My mom…. Showed me this little hole in the wall the night before I left. When the men came, they threw apart this place, looking for files that she'd hidden. She didn't give them up and they didn't find them, so I knew they were around here somewhere. My mom doesn't like being too far away from the things she needed, and I figured they might be here since the last time I didn't look so well. And well, they were."

Jackie was silent as she picked up the box. She didn't look at Ben as she walked away, again, gingerly avoiding the blood. Ben walked out after her and debated whether or not to get her to talk more about her mother.

They walked back outside, Jackie putting the box in the car, getting ready to get inside herself when Ben called out.

"Wait, Jackie." He saw her visibly tense, as if she'd been waiting for him to do that all day.

"What happened to your mom?" He asked softly. Jackie slowly stood up and turned away, rigid with anger or fear, Ben couldn't tell. Probably both.

"Just talk to me." He continued as he walked to her. His hands were jammed in his pockets, and he stood right behind her. She turned around, her eyes shining with something that resembled tears, anger, angst, bitterness and everything Ben wished he could wipe away.

"Can you please leave this one alone?" She asked softly, looking up at him. They were less than a foot away; Ben could lean down and meet their lips, something he'd wanted to do what seemed like forever.

But Ben gave her a small smile instead and said, "Come on Jacks. You know me better than that."

Jackie bit her lip, and Ben had to fight the urge to tell her not to damage her pretty mouth. But he stood there, waiting for her answer.

"The night before I left… My mom was freaking out. I think she knew they were coming. She dragged me to the work room and told me she loved me and that she was sorry and she opened that concealed door in the wall and shoved me inside. God, I was pissed. I was yelling at her and asking her what the hell her problem was. And she put her hand over my mouth and told me to be quiet. I remember she looked at me and she told me not to make a sound. I was so confused and scared and when I didn't say anything I thought she was going to cry. So I promised. And she looked at me and she said, '_Promise_'. I couldn't even say anything, I was too freaked out. So I just nodded.

"Then I heard cars pulling up and doors slamming. My mom shoved me inside, and she told me she loved me, and not to let him find me. She moved a desk in front of the door, but not straight against it, so I could get out if I needed. But there was a crack in the wall, off to the side, so it was to where I could see everything.

"My mom walked away and sat at her desk. And suddenly it was as if she turned into a different person. She became calm and controlled. And the door burst open and these two huge men in suits walked it and asked her where I was and where the files were. My mom didn't say anything. They kept asking. She kept silent.

"I stayed in the wall, completely frozen. I was praying to God that they would leave, but of course they didn't. They told my mother if she refused to cooperate, they would have to use force and she still didn't say anything.

"They…. They grabbed her and threw her on the ground. They beat her. They kicked and slapped and punched and you name it, they did it. She didn't say a word. It was like she…. I don't know. I knew she was in pain and I wanted her to scream, fight back, I don't know, do something. I wanted to get out, to attack those, those monsters, but I didn't. I hate myself for it. I stayed inside like she told me. Because I promised. Because I was frozen, because I didn't know what to do. It was like… Hours passed by in minutes. All I saw was my mom's bloody body and these assholes that didn't know when to stop.

"When they were done, they just cast her aside and went through the rest of the room, and they came next to me and I swear to God my heart stopped beating. It felt like it was years before they left. As soon as I heard the door slam and the car take off, I pushed the door open and I went to my mom. She was gone. I don't know how long I sat there, sitting in her blood. I think I was in shock or something, I don't know. But I got up and I buried her in the backyard, tried cleaning her blood off the floor the best I could. Took off the next morning. I didn't, couldn't stick around. Sometimes I wake up in the morning, still expecting to hear her grumbling or her typing or her yelling goodbye to me as I walk out the door. We didn't have the perfect mother daughter relationship but God, she was my _mom_. I didn't even get to tell her I loved her." Her voice cracked.

Ben pulled Jackie into his arms, enveloping her into his body. Jackie was shaking, but she didn't cry. She didn't say anything; she just stood there, leaning into Ben.

Ben pulled away slightly, looking down at her. "Wanna get outta here?" He asked softly.

Jackie's eyes were dry, but he could see she was at the end of her rope. She nodded quickly and Ben pulled her in and gave her another hug before letting her go. He watched her get into the car, and then turned to get inside himself.

Ben started the car, glancing at Jackie. Her hands were shaking and she struggled to put on her seat belt. He pulled out of her old house, and kept an eye on her as they made their way back to the motel.

He realized that no matter what, he would be there for Jackie. Always. But Ben also knew that it wasn't him that she needed right now. She needed family. More specifically, she needed Kevin. Ben wouldn't bring it up anytime soon, but he could tell that Jackie needed family more than ever, especially for her to heal. He wouldn't push, but he needed to find a way to get the siblings, or mostly Jackie, to start talking again. It wasn't healthy for her to keep everything bottled up inside the way she did.

And if anyone would know how to break through Jackie's walls, it would be the guy who taught her how to put them up in the first place.

* * *

Jackie was quiet the entire ride back, but Ben didn't mind. He felt like Jackie was one step closer to accepting what had happened to her and her mother, and he didn't want to damage anything.

It was late when they pulled into the motel, they had only stopped at a fast food place to take burgers on the go and eat them in the car. Jackie hadn't eaten much, but Ben convinced her to eat at least half of her burger.

As they walked into the room, Jackie grabbed a pair of clothes and headed to the bathroom. Ben heard the shower turn on and waited a moment, before grabbing his phone and not thinking twice before dialing an all too familiar number.

"It's about damn time Tennyson." A gruff voice answered on the second ring.

"I sent you a text yesterday afternoon." Ben rolled his eyes.

"Messaging someone '_still alive for now'_ isn't exactly comforting Tennyson." Kevin snapped.

Ben smirked, but grew serious as he explained that they had found the files that- hopefully- contained useful information.

"All we need is a number, an address, something, and we can take a lead from there." Ben finished confidently.

"Well I guess we'll go through everything when you guys get back. I don't want the risk of anyone seeing anything while you guys are over there. Just keep the box safe and get back in one piece." Kevin said.

Ben hesitated a moment, wondering if he should give Kevin any details, but before he could decide, Kevin beat him to it.

"How is she?" Kevin asked suddenly, cutting off Ben's internal struggle.

Ben sighed. "Honestly Kevin, not too good. I don't know if she's really… Accepted that your mom is gone. I feel like she's been on the run for so long and she was constantly moving that she had no time to grieve. I don't know man, I'm worried."

Kevin was silent for a moment, before hesitantly asking, "Do you know what happened?"

Ben sighed again. "Yeah, and it's not good Kev. It's bad. Really bad. But she'll tell you in her own time. You guys just need to, I don't know. Start talking again." Ben winced as Kevin barked an angry laugh.

"Yeah and then hell with freeze over and pigs will start flying and you'll start acting normal." Kevin said sarcastically.

Ben rolled his eyes but said nothing. He knew how hard this was on Kevin, even if he refused to talk about it.

Suddenly, he heard the water cut off and Ben quickly spoke into the phone.

"Look Kev, Jackie's about to get out of the shower and I don't really want to explain to her why I'm on the phone with you. It'll just start us fighting and I just—"

"Yeah, yeah. You just wanna bang my sister."

Ben froze. _Was he really that obvious? Not that he really wanted to "bang" Jackie, not that he would mind, but it's not like it was on his mind 24/7, more like 25/7 and besides he really liked being with her and_ _smelled nice all the time and she had great legs and pretty eyes and shit, was Kevin going to kill him? Ben had lived a long, healthy life, but he at least wanted Jackie to know why he suddenly went missing because— _

"Chill the fuck out Tennyson. I'm not blind. If I had a problem with the way you looked at my baby sister, I would've ripped your guts out a long ass time ago." Kevin said wryly after Ben struggled with what to say. Ben let out a deep breath, Kevin snickering at his old time friend.

"Seriously though Tennyson, it won't be easy having the hots for my baby sis. She's tough as nails and she's a pain in the ass and she'll probably give you a really tough time. But I don't know man, maybe she'll come around. Give her some time. And keep an eye on her. And use condoms. I'd rather cut off your hands rather than let you touch her, but I'm trying to be realistic." Kevin said thoughtfully after a beat of silence.

Ben could feel himself flushing as he could_ hear_ Kevin's smirk.

"Shut up Kevin." Ben's voice was a notch higher than usual and he wanted to reach into the phone and punch his so called friend square on his face.

"Whatever man. You'd better go before my sister catches you talking to me and gives you hell. Text me tomorrow morning before you leave. Later Benji." And the phone went dead.

Ben heard the bathroom door suddenly creak and he hastened to close his phone and shove it in his pocket. He turned around quickly and froze as Jackie walked out in another large, but not quite large enough sleep shirt that teased Ben as his eyes went straight down to her legs, and back up again.

Jackie didn't seem to notice as she absentmindedly dried her hair. She sat down on her bed gingerly looking up at Ben, quirking a brow.

"Why are you all red?" She asked curiously. Ben mumbled something unintelligible and grabbed his sleep clothes as rushed to the bathroom before Jackie could ask any more questions.

When Ben got out of the bathroom after a quick shower, the room was dark and Jackie was in bed already. Ben tried to be as quiet as possible, but a voice called out to him softly.

"Umm… Ben?" Jackie said hesitantly.

Ben turned to her, not sure if he should walk over or not. He stayed where he was and replied, "Thought you were asleep. What's up?"

He could feel Jackie's apprehension as she fidgeted in her bed. Ben frowned, wondering what it was that was making her so uncomfortable.

"Could you… I don't know… Just…. Sleep tonight… With me?" She mumbled.

Ben shot her a warm smile, though she probably couldn't see it.

Jackie scooted to make room for Ben as he walked over and made himself comfortable in her bed. He was about to turn away, so she'd be more comfortable when he suddenly felt a pair of small hands wrapping around him.

He turned to face Jackie, lying on his side. She shrugged, almost shyly.

"Sorry, it's just… I can actually get some sleep with you. Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, if you wanna go you can, I just—"

Her hands had suddenly began shifting away, but Ben placed his hands on top of hers.

"I'm fine." He said softly, pressing his forehead against hers. She looked up at him, and Ben had to stop himself, once again, from reaching down and pressing his lips against hers.

"Go to sleep babe." He murmured softly, pressing his lips against her forehead instead. She took a deep breath and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Ben pulled her tight up against him and closed his eyes, wishing for the millionth time that he could hold her in his arms forever.

It scared him. It absolutely positively scared every kind of shit imaginable inside of him when it came to the way he cared about Jackie. But it was like he couldn't help himself, he couldn't stop.

He wasn't really sure how much longer he could hold off before he did something stupid.

But for now, he'd be perfectly content with holding her at night when the rest of the world wasn't watching, keeping her close and her monsters at bay.

* * *

**AN: Hey guys, I know it's been awhile, sorry about that. I'm rubbish at updating. This chapter came out different than what I expected, but I like how it turned out. Now with some of Jackie's story out there, hopefully the plot will move along. **

**Quick shout out to the ever so kind AnimeLover824, whose review made me get off my ass and finish this chapter. Thanks for reading and please remember to REVIEW. **


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